The World is Mine
by Kingdom Come
Summary: A darkness has always hung over Dethklok that was merely dismissed as the dark forces of metal and brutality, but what if it is something more...The band is then faced by a new force, who believes that Dethklok doesn't deserve their power, and believes that humanity is unworthy of inheriting the earth. T for violence, sexual content, language, and some disturbing scenarios
1. Chapter 1: Want You Gone

**Full Summary:  
**A darkness has always hung over Dethklok that was merely dismissed as the dark forces of metal and brutality, but what if it is something more...The band is then faced by a new force, who believes that Dethklok doesn't deserve their power, and believes that humanity is unworthy of inheriting the earth.

**[Author's Note!]: **Hello! Just a few things I'd like to say before you read. First of all, this is kind of an experiment. I've noted that MANY of the metalocalypse fics out there are A. Slash romance, B. OC romance, C. Angsty or Tragic SLASH Romance, or D. Humor. So I had this idea for a metal fanfic for a while, and I decided to put it down on paper :/ Like I said, there's a definite lack of any other genre. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, like I said, this is an experiment. Perhaps the fact that there aren't a lot of metal fics in other genres, is because they simply aren't meant to be. Anyway, technically, the genre of this fic is Adventure/Humor/Fantasy/Horror-ish but seeing as how you can only give it two genres…well there you go :/

If you don't like it then, great, you don't like it :3 But I would appreciate some constructive criticisms if you didn't care for it.

* * *

_Such filth, she thought. Good men can claim that they are accomplishing some good with each of their petty endeavors, but for every one human accomplishment, there is always someone that has accomplished something even more so than the last. Thus continuing the vicious cycle. Themselves and all their fruitless endeavors are nothing but a burden to mankind. They shall not be missed…_

Chapter One.

Want You Gone

Nathan grumbled as he peeled his face off of the hot, rough metal surface of the rusted catwalk. He sat upright, and wiped his sweaty hands down his salty and sticky face. He opened his pale green eyes slightly to get a better look at his surroundings. His head was spinning and his vision was blurry. All he could see was a repulsive swirl of rust and fiery orange, gunmetal grey, and dirt brown. His vision still didn't come into focus, and he felt unbelievably sick. He wasn't drunk, he wasn't hung over, and he hadn't had any tequila, or at least not that he recalled.

No, this feeling was different. Given that the amount of sweat that was sitting upon the surface of his skin was actually weighing down his clothes, and it was oppressively hot in wherever this was, he must have been severely dehydrated. After all, it would explain a lot.

He shook his head and slapped his face, as he stumbled to his feet. His surroundings then became more clear. He was standing on a thin, rusted catwalk, hanging high above what looked like a smelter was spewing out hot orange flames, and oozing melted metal. Nathan suddenly got dizzy once again. He clung to the railing of the walkway (as this was not the most _sturdy _structure he had even been on).

He took a deep breath of putrid air, filling his nose with the scents of industrial grease, sulfur, and his own body odor. He felt dizzy once again, but slapped himself across the face once again. He had accomplished something: He was standing upright. At least it was a start. He also knew he was in some sort of factory, but where this factory was, why he was here, and _how_ he got there, he hadn't quite worked out.

"Good!" A voice chimed, form somewhere above him. It sounded like a man, with a thick English accent. Nathan didn't know the face that this voice belonged to, but he did know it. He looked up and noticed, what he could only describe as a creature, scale down the iron scaffolds hanging above him, and leap down on to the catwalk, "You're alright! I gotta say…thought after a fall like that, you'd be dead for sure…that or you'd miss the walkway and fall into the smelters…either way…nice to see you're alive…but by jove! You look a fright…"

"You're one to talk…" Nathan growled, looking angrily down at the little creature. Although, Nathan perhaps should have looked in a mirror. He was battered, bruised and absolutely filthy, covered head to toe in a thick, oily brown substance.

Though, his newfound companion wasn't a looker either. It was a small thing, with the clammy face of a frog or toad, and two big yellow eyes that stared up at him expectantly. There was a thin layer of greasy hair sitting on its sickly green head. He stood at about two feet in height, but had an unfortunately hunched back. He was wearing a dark purple robe that covered most of his body. Nathan's first thought was that, whatever this was, was the deformed offspring of Yoda and Gollum. But after an array of images stemmed from such thoughts (that he wished his mind hadn't conjured), he dismissed the thought. But still, Nathan knew this creature.

"Where are we?" Nathan asked flatly, looking down at the thing. It looked back at him with a dumbfounded, yet infuriated expression.

"Focus man!" He shouted, leaping into the air, and striking his face. Nathan placed his hand on the red mark across his face, and looked back at the creature with a confused and offended stare, "Think! What's your name?"

"Nathan Explosion…" He replied flatly.

"How old are you?"

"Thirty one."

"Who's your best friend?"

"Pickles…"

"What's your wife's name?"

"I…don't have one?"

"Good! Now where are we?"

"Narem-" Nathan began, stopping himself suddenly. It was as though he had been struck in the face again, and everything he now couldn't remember came rushing back. He turned to the creature, and immediately seized him by the collar of his robe and took off running.

"Excellent!" The creature laughed, looking up at Nathan as he rushed down the catwalk, "You remember!"

"We've got to save the guys!" Nathan shouted, stopping just for a moment to look around the complex, "Which door is it!" Nathan demanded, lifting up his creepy companion to his eye level.

"Why do you think I know?" He replied with a nervous smile and a shrug. Nathan let out an angry growl as he threw the creature down against the catwalk. He let out a shout as he fell against the metal and rolled towards the edge, like a rag doll, "You could have killed me!" He shouted, leaping on to the railing, and running after Nathan.

"You're of no use to me…" Nathan growled back, moving to the end of the rickety walkway. He stepped out on to a solid metal pathway that lined the walls of the complex. He looked down each direction, noting that there were dozens of doors, "We will be here for hours…" Nathan began, practically spitting venom at the creature, now running up behind him, "What now!"

"Why do you think I know?" He responded with equal harshness.

"It's the big one…to your right…" A voice called. Nathan looked up and noted a young woman about ten feet up, and to his left. She was leaning casually against the iron scaffold, looking down at Nathan and his guide. He and this young woman locked eyes for a long time. Nathan crossed his arms, but felt something hot and smooth brush against one of his upper arms. His eyes pulled away from hers just long enough to look down at his wrist. He noted the thick, old, and rather heavy gauntlet welded to his arm.

_Right…_ he thought, _I forgot about this…_

"Why should I trust you," Nathan asked contemptuously of the young woman. She said nothing, she just smiled back at him.

"Because…" She replied, turning away from them, just before scaling the scaffold, "You forget…that I hate _her _just as much as you do…" She concluded, before leaping out of sight.

"Don't let her get into your head," Nathan's guide began, tugging on his arm in the direction she guided them.

"What do you think she meant though-" Nathan began, looking suspiciously off in the direction she had headed.

"Never mind her!" He replied, "Let's just hope that…_she _isn't around and we can get out of here…"

"Yeah…" Nathan began, still looking off in the distance. They both reached the largest door in the direction the female assailant had directed them. Nathan seized the large, burning hot handle of the iron gate. He threw all his strength into throwing open the door enough for both he and his guide to get inside. They both slid under what little space Nathan could manage to pry open. They slid into a large, rusty metal chamber as the gate slammed down behind them. Nathan turned around, and tried to pull it back open in the event they would need to escape, but nothing.

On the bright side, this chamber was significantly cooler, so it was easier for Nathan to breathe. He looked around, but there wasn't anything in the room, other than the two of them, though it was fairly dark, so he couldn't really tell. Nathan let out a loud and angry growl as he turned around and threw his fist against the iron door.

"Where…are…YOU!" he screamed, his voice rebounding off of the walls of the chamber, "Fuck her! She lied to me…AGAIN!"

"Uh…" His companion began, "Nathan…"

"What!" He shouted, turning on the small creature, who just stood fixated on a point behind him. Nathan turned to note the twisted figure of another woman walking towards them. _Her_.

"Oh…I had hoped for something a little more challenging…" She began, "But, it's just _you_…" She sighed, shaking her head, and placing a grotesque hand on her face. Several thick, glistening, red appendages of some kind slithered across the ground making the most awful, organic sound as they did so. It started as few, but they split apart into hundreds, and both of the men knew what was soon to come, "Crone…" She began, turning to the cowardly creature as one of the red tentacles seized the creature by the leg, "I wish to speak to Nathan…alone…" She stated with a frighteningly pleasant voice and smile, as the tentacle dragged the smarmy creature away. Nathan wasn't going to lie to himself, he didn't want to be before her alone, but he wasn't sad to see Crone go.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness better, and he noticed a collection of red, oozing, fleshy organic material clinging to the walls behind her. It must have been the source of the very indistinguishable, yet peculiar smell that drifted throughout the room.

"Come," She smiled, extending a long, claw-like, fleshy hand. Nathan didn't want to be anywhere near her. Not because she was somewhat frightening to look at, but because she had such a pleasant demeanor about her. She had a soft and warm smile painted across her red lips, and a dreamy gaze that matched her gentle voice. These qualities, mixed with her appearance, just made the sight of her disturbing to him, "I just want to talk…"

"Where's dethklok…" He demanded before she could ask anything else.

"I'll see to it that you see them," She continued with a smile, "But first…we talk…" She concluded with her hand outstretched towards him. Nathan looked down at it with indifference.

"What do you even want with them?" He asked after several long minuets of silence. It was _him _she had been after from the start. So why go through all the trouble to keep his bandmates from him? It didn't make sense.

"It's all about you," She smiled, tilting her head gently to the side, "Isn't it Nathan…You should know by know what's going on…" She stated, directing her eyes to the gaudy hunk of metal stuck to his wrist. He nodded, and then looked back up to her, "Give it to me…and you can go…and you'll never have to think about any of this ever again…" Without knowing it, he had been a constant thorn in her side for decades. To her, he was just a haunting memory if what her life could have been. But he didn't know that. It was easy for Nathan to take everything that she had done to him and make her the villain of this story

"Will you let them go?" Nathan demanded, his other hand, covering the gauntlet. Her expression darkened a little, but only for a moment. Her haunting smile returned and she held her hand out to him once more.

"Let's talk…" She commanded once more. He took her hand as she directed him towards the back of the chamber, which seemed to be fading into blackness. Somehow, the only thing Nathan seemed to be able to think about, was how he got here. Not just how he got into this facility, standing before _her_, but how he got to this point in time. A week ago, he was still the figurehead of one of the most powerful political and economic powers in the world. Now, he was covered in filth, descending into darkness, most likely about to meet his fate.

It wasn't necessarily the death he had wanted, but by this point, he was ready to .face it. And as they both became lost in blackness, he thought once again of how he got to this point…

* * *

**[Author's Note]:** yep, so that's chapter one :P sorry it's kind of short. Anyway, as I said in the above message, this is a really experimental fic for me :P So I tried writing in a different perspective/style (I.e starting at a point in the future, and working backwards up to that point…it sounds less confusing than it is :/) So hence all of the vagueness when it came to introducing some of the characters (because they'll be properly introduced later). I am going to try and update (if it's well perceived or not), but it's not going to be my top priority when it comes to the other stuff I have written.


	2. Chapter 2: One More Soul to the Call

_The door slammed shut behind her, and she leaned back, smiling darkly. She knew that she would never again see the traitor of Naremas ever again. Another lost soul in Central seemed appropriate somehow._

-One Month Prior-

Chapter Two.

One More Soul to the Call

Nathan awoke late that morning, feeling as someone who is hung-over traditionally would. He rolled over and stared at the glowing red lights on the ridiculous stereo system built into his wall. It was past one in the afternoon, but he grumbled and rolled back over, paying no attention to the three nameless women laying beside him. Though, that was his life, along with the lives of his band mates. Indulgence, debauchery, and perpetual extravagance and luxury, all with a dark twist, was all he knew at this point.

Nathan sat upright and let out a long and deep growl as he pulled himself out of bed. He knew he going to be stuck on a four hour flight to Vancouver, and truthfully he couldn't remember why he was going. No one else from Dethklok was going to accompany him. Come to think of it, he couldn't even recall when his flight was supposed to leave. He lifted the charcoal grey shirt and jeans that he had worn last night off of the floor and threw them on. He then threw open the large black door to his bedchamber, awakening the three women (which they did not appreciate at all) and without a word to any of them. They knew their way out.

Immediately upon stepping out into the hallway, he was greeted by Charles, who was standing with his arms crossed and a slightly annoyed expression on his face. Nathan looked back at him with a lethargic and indifferent gaze.

"Somewhere you, ah, needed to be…Nathan?" Charles asked, raising an eyebrow. Nathan rolled his eyes, thinking for a moment.

"Uuuh…" He grumbled, looking over at his manager, "I gotta go to stupid fuckin Canada…"

"Yes," Charles nodded, "But, ah, do you remember what _time_, you ah were supposed to leave?"

"Uuh," Nathan began, clutching his forehead, and rubbing his temples, "Isn't that your job…to know…about where I'm supposed to go!" He growled angrily.

"I am ah," Charles began with a slight sigh, "Supposed to keep track of the _band's _whereabouts Nathan…God only knows why you wanted to go to Canada all of a sudden. But your flight left two hours ago."

"Wait…" Nathan began, narrowing his bloodshot eyes, "There's nothing going on in Canada?" He asked. Charles just looked at him. Sometimes he felt like talking to Nathan and the rest of Dethklok was like talking to a brick wall, or a group of children.

"No…" Charles replied flatly, "But when you and the boys came stumbling through the door last night, you ah, kept on rambling about this." He stated, handing over what looked like a brochure. Nathan raised an eyebrow at the item, but took it from Charles.

"The Vancouver Museum of Anthropology?" Nathan asked in confusion, "Why the _hell _would I want to go here…"

"I ah, don't know Nathan," Charles replied, sounding slightly nervous, but for only a second as he turned away from Nathan and headed down the halls of Mordhaus. But before Charles was out of sight, he turned back around to Nathan, "Rebooked your flight…it ah, leaves in an hour…a car is waiting, you ah, you'd better hurry…"

_That…was weird…_ Nathan thought, looking back down at the brochure. Where did he get a brochure for a _Canadian _museum? And why did he care? Either way, he stuffed the glossy paper in his pocket and headed down the hall. But that called upon another driving question. He was sure that Charles only rebooked his flight out of courtesy, but Nathan asked himself why he was going to go? There was obviously a part of him that cared, or else he would have just gotten a beer, and joined the rest of his band mates in the living room, completely blowing off his arrangements. But why?

Regardless, he passed through the living room, noting that no one was present. Most likely, they were blacked out in their rooms with various other nameless women of all shapes, sizes, classes, and creeds. It was better that they weren't there. Most likely he would receive some sort of chastising from Pickles or Murderface about traveling to _Canada_, although he would simply tell them to _fuck themselves_.

He headed out of the entrance gates of Mordhaus, klokiteers making sure that Nathan not lift a finger. One of the masked servants opened the door to the gunmetal grey town car and Nathan climbed inside. The door slammed shut behind him and the car began to roll towards its destination, as Nathan stared lazily out of the window as they drove past the putrid world around them. His gaze suddenly turned into a glare.

The world outside the wall of his fantasy disgusted him. What he was looking at was the world of…how did he put it? Regular jackoffs, I believe. He hated regular people. Maybe because it was the fact he used to be one of them. Transcending to a godlike status always has a tendency to make one feel rather self important. But he grew tried of looking _their _world. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, not that he was tired (though he was still quite hungover) but he was just through with looking.

* * *

"Master…" He began, emerging from the darkness, with his hands held firmly behind his back as he addressed the elderly man sitting in his throne, high above them. General Crozier stood at the bottom of the throne, staring up at him, as Vater Orlaag strode up beside him, and began to address Selatcia, "Nathan Explosion has somehow learned of the existence of the Adamas. He travels to the Vancouver Museum of Anthropology as we speak. I am sure that once he lays eyes on the item in person, he will remember everything."

"We must not let him bond with the Adamas," Selatcia began, rising from his throne.

"I'll send my men to Vancouver immediately-" General Crozier began, just before being cut off.

"No…" Selatcia hissed, looking down at the military man, "I will send someone of my own kind to handle this…"

"_Master,_" Vater Orlaag began, communicating with Selatcia telepathically, "_You think it wise to send N?_"

"_Of course_…" Selatcia replied, as his voice echoed through Vater's mind, "_She is the only one alive who knows more about the Adamas and its relationship to Alchemilla, than I._"

"_Precisely why we shouldn't allow her near it,_" Vater Orlaag stated darkly, his distrust of Selatcia's assailant apparent.

"_We shall send N_…" Selatcia replied, narrowing his eyes at Vater Orlaag, "_And we will hope that the Dark Mistress does not learn of Explosion's departure from the norm_…" He concluded as he phased into the darkness, leaving his minions behind.

Selatcia reemerged from the void into a dark chamber. He took a deep breath, and let out a long and angry sigh. He sat down in another large throne at the head of the chamber. Along the columned walls were braziers burning with a strange, bluish fire. It seemed as though the flames pulsed in their strength with every breath that Selatcia took. He looked forward as a dark figure emerged from the shadows.

It was a woman. She was tall and slender with long dark hair that fell around her face and down to her mid back. She was dressed in mostly black, and given the chamber was already dark, it was difficult to make out the details. Lastly, she wore a cowl over her head, shrouding most of her face in darkness. Selatcia narrowed his gaze. He didn't trust her, but he did _need_ her.

"You called," She began, kneeling down before him.

"I have a task for you…" Selatcia began, gripping the arms of his throne as he addressed her.

"Anything master," She began, as he could see a slight smile form on her lips, "As you know…I live to serve thee."

* * *

Many hours later, Nathan found himself with an unenthusiastic expression across his face, as he crossed his arms and began to stride through the halls of the museum. It wasn't unbearable. There were plenty of displays and exhibitions talking about the various cannibalistic and ritualistic customs of various tribes across the world, but nothing really interested him. Again, he found himself asking, _why am I here?_

He was about to leave, when suddenly something captured his attention. In the center of a large room towards the front entrance of the building, was a square glass case. Inside the case, sitting on a thin pedestal, was what looked like a stone or metal bracer, like the ones archers wear, though those are usually made of leather.

It was a rather ugly looking thing too. Which is why he thought it strange that he felt compelled to look at it. It was rough looking with crude looking markings engraved into the metal. Nathan looked down at the small grey plaque standing in front of the case. It didn't say much about it, other than it was just found recently and they were trying to figure out what it was used for.

"Neat, isn't it?" Someone asked. It took Nathan a moment to realize that they were talking to him. He turned to note a tall and slender woman dressed in skin tight black jeans, and a black zip-up sweatshirt. The hood was thrown over her face, so he didn't get a very good look at her, but he could see long black hair hanging from underneath the hood.

She then began to laugh slightly as she placed her hands on her waist. Nathan gave her a nasty look, and he opened his mouth, as though he was going to speak. But before he could say anything, she ceased her laughter and took a step towards the glass case.

"I'll take this off their hands…" She began, reaching towards the case, "It's probably for the best…" She stated smugly, reaching through the glass, the surface rippling as though she was sticking her arm through water.

Nathan didn't know how to respond, mostly because he wasn't sure what he was looking at. Though reason suddenly took hold of his thoughts, and he reached for the arm of the woman. She let out a loud growl as she threw her free hand across his face. Nathan growled back as he took hold of her free arm, but it was too late. She had taken hold of the museum artifact, and during their skirmish, they shattered the thick glass case. Nathan let out a low hiss as hundreds of small shards were now protruding from his skin, but the woman looked unharmed.

The alarms around the museum began to blare, and once she heard the sounds of the wailing sirens, she took off running. Nathan followed after her, but before he could get a hold of the woman, she turned around and threw her foot into his stomach, knocking him back several feet. She was stronger than she looked. In fact, as Nathan quickly peeled himself off of the glossy floor, he attempted to wrap his mind around that kind of strength. It seemed inhuman.

"Sorry Nathan," She called, turning back to him. From underneath her hood, he could see her red lips contort into a smile as a dark portal tore open in the space behind her, "But I can't let you have this. You should have just missed you flight…" She stated with a slight laugh.

Nathan stumbled to his feet, and ran towards her. She was just barely through the portal, when Nathan tackled the assailant. She let out a gasp of shock, and slight horror as they both went crashing through the vortex. In the confusion, she released her grip on the gauntlet, and without another thought, Nathan caught it in his free hand.

He then felt extremely dizzy, and everything had begun to grow dark as he felt himself slip out of consciousness. He felt himself being seized by the collar of his shirt, but his body had become limp. The last thing he heard was the voice of the assailant shouting at him, trying to awaken him from this trance, but it was no use.

Everything from that point on was hazy. His vision went black, then white, then black again. His head was spinning, but the sensation quickly ceased. It was a vision of some kind, but what? All he could see was bright light. He felt warm as well, like he was looking in direct sunlight. He could swear he heard himself talking to someone, someone he didn't recognize. But then everything went cold and black once more, and he faded from consciousness.

"Wake up you son…of…a BITCH!" The hooded assailant shouted as she threw her face across Nathan's face. But Nathan's head fell back limply. He would awaken soon, and she knew that. Fainting was common in those traveling through portals for their first time. But she needed him awake. She looked down, disdainfully at his arm. The gauntlet that she had attempted to lift from the museum was now attached to his arm. It appeared as though it was fused to his arm, with no seams in the now smooth metal.

"Damn it!" She growled, leaving Nathan laying against a filthy alley wall. His head hung down as she pulled her hood away from her face, _I hope he doesn't recognize me… _She thought, standing upright.

_Master Selatcia…_She began as her voice echoed in her own head, _I have troubling news sir…_

_N…_Selatcia's dark voice replied, ringing in her ears, _What is the meaning of this…interruption._

_Sir, Nathan attacked me before I could return safely to Naremas with the Adamas,_ She replied, with a slight sigh, _He fell through the rift, and in the process…_

_N…_Selatcia replied, the volume of his voice rising in anger, _What happened to the Adamas!_

_Master, Nathan has been bonded to the Adamas…_She replied, sounding sickened and disappointed.

_Since you I can not count on you to protect our interests, _Selatcia hissed, _I will see to this matter myself…I will contact you again if I need you…though doubtful…_

"Damn it!" She shouted, breaking her telekinetic links with Selatcia. She looked over at Nathan with contempt and hatred, _Her forces are going to be all over Mordhaus in a matter of minuets…I've got to find Vincent…but I can't just leave this great useless thing here…_

She looked back to Nathan, trying to decide where to leave him, when suddenly his eyes began to flutter open. Her heart skipped a beat as she immediately threw her hood above her head and leapt into the air, touching down on the slate roof of one of the ramshackle hovels that the people of this city called _home._ Nathan's vision came into focus just in time for him to see her leap on to the rooftop.

"Hey!" He shouted, rising to his feet. But upon hearing his voice, she ran faster, trying to make sure that he would never catch her, "Wait!" He shouted angrily, "Get back here!" But by the time he managed to climb on to one of the roofs, she was long gone.

_Damn it…_ He thought, _Who the hell was that!_ She knew his name, and her voice was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't draw up a face. But then again, all the nameless women that he had engaged with in the past all tended to sound the same, look the same, and act the same (all except Trindel…but that was another story). He didn't think this was a vindictive ex though. Something about her felt different. But he had a bigger problem on his hands.

He had thought that the unnatural events that had transpired in the museum had been some sort of hallucination, or a dream. Though, upon looking at his surroundings the phrase 'We're not in Kansas anymore' came to mind. He got a fairly descent look at the city from the rooftop, and immediately knew that he was nowhere in America, or anywhere on earth for that matter.

"What the fuck…" He asked himself quietly. For what looked like miles, the slums of the city stretched over the horizon. Thousands of poorly constructed homes of varying shapes, sizes, and stories, were packed together in what felt like an oppressive sand-scape. The air was thick and muggy, and smelled of smoke and sulfur, and the heat was oppressive. A massive orange sun hung in a blood red sky high above the pitiful slum. A gust of hot wind blew through the streets, bringing up a whirlwind of orange dust in his face, and the nameless faces of the people walking in the filthy streets below him.

He then turned around and noted that the slum city had begun to change. The small and filthy shacks of the slum started to grow larger, and as the city progressed inward, the structures appeared better constructed, eventually turning into a darker, industrial quarter that stretched for quite a way. Several hundred dark metal factories and foundries stood high above the slum, shadowing part of the slums in darkness as the towering metal structures spewed out thick black smoke and bright orange flame.

Beyond the dark metal industrial quarter, was a bright, almost white inner city, packed with dozens of white, towering structures. There seemed to be some sort of transparent shield around the inner city. It was large, but not nearly as large as the slums, or the industrial portions of the city that surrounded it.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked, wiping the sweat away from his face.

"Hey!" A heavy, almost robotic voice shouted. Nathan turned, but before he could think, two thick black tethers wrapped around his wrists, and he was forcibly pulled from the rooftop, his back scraping against the crude slate roof as he was dragged down to the street. He collided with the dirt road, and attempted to peel himself off of the ground, but the tethers pulled at his arms in opposite directions.

He looked up and noticed three oily, black, hulking abominations. Their skin was coarse and charred, but still retained some slick and repulsive gleam. Though, only the skin on their skulls was visible. Their faces consisted of large, circular red lenses for eyes, and some sort of air filtration system mask fused to their faces. Several black tubes hung from the masks and bore directly into their bodies. The rest of their bodies were covered by heavy black and dark grey tactical equipment and armor. The largest of the group loomed over Nathan, where as the two smaller held tightly to the thick, twine-like tethers holding him down. The restraints seemed to grow from the palms of the smaller abominations, which he couldn't quite decide if he was disgusted or not.

"State your name, district number, and directive," The largest of them began, tilting up Nathan's head with some sort cudgel or nightstick.

"What!" Nathan asked, sounding completely confused.

"Stand down Sentry," A woman began, emerging from behind the massive abominations, "I'll handle this…"

"That's a peak district officer…" The crowd that had emerged from their miserable dwellings began to whisper and mumble.

"What are the Naremian Sentries doing in the Ground District?" Another asked in fear.

"That's not a Ground District citizen…just look at him!" Others sneered.

"Silence!" The woman then stated. She was dressed in the same tactical uniform as the hulking abominations, but her equipment contoured to her long and svelte figure. She was a pale and strikingly attractive woman, who appeared no older than twenty five. Her hair was long, and was a shocking pink color, which took him off guard by looking at her. Her eyes were a pale and icy green, much like his own, "What's your district number?" She commanded of him, crossing her arms as she glared down at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nathan hissed, struggling to break free. She gave him another sharp look as she struck him across the face.

"Now let me see," She began, seizing his face, and lifting it up to hers, "Now…you're far too ugly to be an Arch…but you're far too pretty to be a Lohgorek…" She continued, violently pushing his face away from her, "Though…you have the traits of a District thirteen citizen…Sentry!" She commanded of the largest of the creatures, "Take him to the Peak District processing borough…" She stated, looking down at him with a twisted smile, "And we'll have this straggler placed in his proper district."

And with that the two smaller monstrous sentries bound Nathan by his hands and legs. He struggled to break free, but his restraints were bound so tightly he could barely move. One of smaller sentries tossed Nathan over its shoulder, like he was a rag doll, and they followed the young woman through the dusty streets of the slum. They finally reached a large, dark grey, boxy vehicle, that resembled a tank but without treads. Upon further inspection, he realized that the objects method of transport was flight. But just by his initial glances of this strange place, it seemed like flight was the most reasonable way to get around.

"This is Commander Kiryu Hiyabusa," The young woman began, speaking into some small black device, "We'll be returning to the peak district momentarily. We've found another misplaced citizen…please make the necessary preparations."

"Yes Commander Hiyabusa," A voice crackled from the opposite end, as she closed the device and tucked it away in her uniform.

"Alright," She began with a dark smile, turning to Nathan as the sentries threw him into the cavity of the transport lazily. Nathan looked up at her with a newfound and almost instant hatred, "You're going to be sent to the Processing borough, where you will be re-educated, and properly institutionalized. Can't remember your district or you directive? Don't worry, we'll take care of that." She smiled, just before moving to seal the hatch.

Nathan couldn't quite place this feeling. He was without the rest of Dethklok, alone, with no idea of where he was or what was about to happen to him. It was quite possible that he was afraid. Though, before the hatch could seal and he would be thrown into whatever twisted fate was awaiting him, the entire area filled with a thick white smoke.

"What the hell is going on!" He heard the commander shout. The sentries began to choke and cough, pulling at their filtration tubes, and unable to function. Nathan then heard a snapping noise as he felt his restraints loosen and fall to the ground. He couldn't see much through the thick smokescreen, but he felt someone seize his wrist and pull him from the transport. Whoever it was that had decided to rescue him, they didn't hesitate to get as far away as possible, as they took off running through the streets and alleys of the slums.

"Split up and search the entire Ground District!" The Commander shrieked, once the smoke cleared and noticed Nathan was gone, "This is Commander Hiyabusa reporting from District five! We've got a misplaced citizen evading detainment! I am requesting a sweep team at the ground districts!" She shouted into her communication device.

"Yes Commander Hiyabusa," The voice replied.

Meanwhile, after running for what felt like hours, Nathan and his rescuer ceased running. All he could see was a small figure shrouded by what looked like a burlap sack. They pulled him into a nearby dark alley, where they would be safe, for now. Once they were out of sight, Nathan pushed the cloaked figure away from him.

"Back off! I swear to God! I know…I know…Uh…I know how to kick you ass!" Nathan shouted, holding up his fists.

"Would you relax," They stated, pulling away the burlap cloak, "I'm a friend!" She continued, sticking her hand out in front of her.

She was a small young woman, of about nineteen. She was rather short, with fair skin and a slender frame, and almost no chest to speak of. Her hair was long and light blonde, and she kept it pulled back, though a fair amount still hung in front of her dark green eyes.

"I don't know you," Nathan replied, swatting her hand away from him.

"And I don't know you," She replied, crossing her arms, "But anyone who's in trouble with the Naremian Sentries can't be all bad…"

"So you live here?" Nathan asked in disgust, taking in all the awful sights and smells of the slums.

"No," She replied, gesturing him to follow her. She guided him up a very unstable metal scaffold within the alley. They reached the top of the scaffold, just overlooking one of the buildings in the slums. She then pointed to the bright white cityscape off in the distance, "I _lived _there…My sister and I were citizens of District Fourteen."

"What's with this district stuff anyway?" Nathan demanded as they began to climb down from the scaffold and back into the alley.

"You…don't know?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and sounding confused.

"Does it look like I fucking know?" He asked flatly.

"It's a long story," She began, gesturing him to follow her.

"What's your name anyway?" He demanded. She shot him a dirty look, getting sick of his demands, though he didn't really care how she felt.

"Call me Jack…" She replied, "That's an interesting bracelet by the way..."

* * *

**[Message from KC]: **Sorry Sirs, this is going to be a really super long chapter, but I kind of want to just jump into the story on this one. So…I may or may not have been watching Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, and Black Butler on netflix while writing (not bad series by the way…they're not the best…but still pretty good. Anime is like pizza…when it's good, it's good, and when it's bad, it's still pretty good :D) Anyway! So I will say this, I know it seems kind of dark and serious right now, but unlike my other stories (where they start out cheerful and get dark) this one will kind of do the opposite (sort of…) Anyway! Political upheaval, traveling through portals, and corrupt government :D Bet you didn't expect all this in a metalocalypse fanfic! Anyway, I'm sorry Nathan was acting OOC in this chapter, but hey once all this exposition crap is finally done he'll be more in character (as will the rest of the boys when they finally come in :P)

Anyway! So as I said in my last author's note, this is a really experimental fic :P (I dunno I think it's shaping up to be pretty cool, but meh...tell me what you think!)

Happy Thursday Everypony! :D


	3. Chapter 3: Long, Long Time Ago

For as long as anyone can recall, the Naremian Empire has been the only superpower in the world. They were always a power-hungry nation, and it was always their mission to be the sole power in the whole of this world. They're constantly seeking to increase their empire, mounting assaults against any one that they believe they can best, and assimilate.

The date was September the Second, in the year of fourteen X.I. based on the Naremian Imperial calendar, nearly one hundred years ago. The Great Empire of Naremas had officially declared war against the Sacred land of Syrania. The country had sustained its neutrality for decades, but alas they were one of the few satellite nations that was yet to be seized by the Naremian control.

Being the only super power, and Syrania being such a small state, they were overtaken easily. And, their once sacred country had been assimilated into the Totalitarian city. But the rights to Syrania's rich natural resources became a highly disputed issue, as the Empire believed it was rightfully theirs, and the Syranians, holding steadfast to their beliefs, wouldn't allow the empire to defile their sacred lands. This put a political and diplomatic strain on the relationship between both sides. The Naremas Empire was fully ready to accept Syrania as it's political equal, but the country held firm to their beliefs, thus beginning a civil war.

Though, in the battle between them, the Empire introduced new weapons in their already overpowering arsenal. The Sentries that patrol the streets today were an organic and cybernetic compound experiment, developed solely for the purpose of maintaining security in the city, and battling on the frontlines. The military experts in the Peak City called them the 'Nightmare Corps'. Implanted with a mechanical processor, they lacked emotion and clearly thought logically, based on the beliefs they were programmed by, and their highly structured organic frame made them a force to be reckoned with. In addition, creating synthetic soldiers minimized the amount of Imperial casualties.

This meant disaster for the people of Syrania. The numbers on the Naremian sides were staggering, and they overpowered the defenseless country. They took the mainland, and obliterated their lines of defense, taking its capitol within a week. Syrania had no other choice but to lay down their arms, and was claimed as an Imperial Colony within that month.

Though, like way they had treated every other country they had dominated, the Empire was willing to be lenient, and offered Syrania a place within the peak districts of Naremas, while their land would be used to construct a new ground district. They reluctantly agreed, but their presence in the higher districts of the city would not be so pleasant.

The Empire shamed the Syranians for their defiance, and forced them into one part of the city, to which they could never leave. Syrania, the once proud nation, was stripped of its pride, it's freedom, its pedigree, and it's name. They called the Syranian colony, district 13. And for years, they were content to lay down their arms and be a part of the Naremas Empire.

Though in the recent years of political upheaval, and the recent crowning of the new Fuhrer-King, Pious, the younger citizens of district 13 decided to take advantage of the new Fuhrer, and his green status in the military. Underneath the advice of a young radical, they developed the Naremas Liberation Front. Their mission was to overthrow the corrupted noblemen that ran the city, and return the land to the nations that were obliterated and shamed in order to create the city.

* * *

_She looked down at the dark-haired young man before her, bound and bleeding on the ground. In her eyes, he and his people, were nothing but an oozing sore upon the perfect city. His refusal to adorn his number was a refusal to declare his pedigree, and such a breach of order would not be tolerated._

* * *

Chapter Three.

Long, Long Time Ago

"You're in the Totalitarian District City of Naremas," Jack explained, as she sat, cross-legged in a small fire lit hovel within the slums. Nathan sat opposite, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"That's a mouthful," He replied, crossing his arms.

"So you must be new here," She began with a slight smile as she raised her eyebrow, "Where are you from anyway?"

"That depends," He replied, leaning back against the dusty clay wall behind him, "Where are we?"

"I just told you," Jack replied, rolling her eyes, "We're in the Totalitar-"

"Yeah I uh, got that part," Nathan replied, slightly irritated, "But where…is this city located?" He demanded.

"I don't know," Jack replied, with a slight sigh, "I've never been outside of the city walls before."

_Oh I can't imagine why not…_ He thought to himself, ironically.

"When I was younger, I thought the world ended at the city wall," Jack stated, with a slight laugh, seemingly talking to herself, "Ya know…like once you climb over it, you just drop off into nothing. I know _now_…but I've still never been outside the city, well, not that they'd let you outside…or…that you'd even wanna go outside…" She continued, seemingly talking to herself by this point, "Uh…so…where are you from?"

"Not here," Nathan replied, stretching his arms. The imprints of the oily black tethers was still indented in his skin. They burned just slightly, and the feeling was greatly irritating him. He then looked at the dusty floor and let out an angry sigh. It wasn't a dream. That was for sure. Thinking that every misfortune and horror you experience is a dream stupid ideal perpetuated by cowards who don't want to have to face their reality. Blaming it on your subconscious is easy, "I need to get back…" He then stated quietly and angrily after several long moments of silence.

"It would help if I knew how you got here," Jack began, turning her head to look out of the gaping hole in the wall.

"Through a portal," Nathan laughed, rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of the statement. He looked over to Jack who was staring at him with a furrowed brow. He half expected her to start laughing or tell him that he was crazy, but instead she just stared at him, "What?" He demanded.

"That's…not good," Jack stated, looking him over with even more caution and worry than before.

"And that's not really something I wanted to hear," He began rising to his feet, narrowing his gaze at her, "But…you must know enough to help me."

"W-what do you want to know?" Jack then asked, after several moments of silence. He looked up at her and rolled his eyes. Part of this felt a little pointless, and there was a large part of him that was beginning to develop dark and hopeless thoughts about being trapped in this place. If he didn't know where he was, how was he going to get back? Not to mention he took an immediate dislike to this girl, in addition to the feeling that he was most likely going to be stuck with her for sometime.

"Well fine!" She then shouted, rising to her feet, "Be this way! I saved your ass and you're treating me like I'm scum?"

"You live in this _armpit_ of a city…" Nathan scoffed, rising to his feet as well. He loomed over the young woman, and her vastly smaller frame, though she stood tall and was not intimidated by his domineering disposition, "…you kind of _are_." He replied, crossing his arms.

"Fine," Jack snapped, walking across the small room, and throwing back the thick, dirty canvas fabric curtain that she called a door, "Then leave…you find your own way through the city…good luck with the guards by the way…"

"Fine," Nathan shrugged, moving out of the shack, acting like he was unaffected by her. He took two steps outside of her 'home' before he felt two hands strongly grip his shoulders, and he was pulled back inside. Jack shoved him back against the wall and he let out a growl of disapproval, "What the hell is-"

"Are you insane!" Jack then shouted.

_No…_He thought, raising an eyebrow, _but something tells me that you are._

"You'll be eaten alive out there," Jack grumbled, throwing back the curtain door, "I didn't think you'd actually be stupid enough to leave…"

"Fine! If you're so eager to help, then tell me everything you know about this place," Nathan began, crossing his arms and walking over towards a hole in the wall that looked out on to the streets of the slum.

"Then sit down," Jack demanded, as she sat back down on the floor, crossing her legs, "We might be here a while."

* * *

_As you know, we are in the city of Naremas. This is the largest place in the world, and consists of the lands of several fallen nations of this world. Dozens of nations have fallen, and the empire won't be satisfied until every single being in the world is under their control. This immense continent-city is home to billions upon billions of souls, of all classes, creeds, pedigrees, and races. And in this city, we're all put in our 'rightful' places._

_Now, the city is has grown in size to accommodate fifteen districts within the three rings of the city. Districts one through five are known as the ground districts and they lie in the outermost ring of the city. As you so delicately put it, this is the 'armpit' of the city. The ground district is home to the laborers and artisans of Naremas. In the ground districts you can find anything from cobblers, tailors and weavers, carpenters, tanners and leatherworkers, farmers, to livestock breeders. Most of the Lohgorek citizens live here, though there are quite a few Arch citizens that have been barred from exiting the ground districts, forced to live and work here for whatever crime they may have committed._

_Districts 6 through 10 are located in the median ring of the city. They're known as the industrial districts, and where you saw those factories in the distance. The industrial districts are known for being the melting-pot of the city as the population is balanced by Arch and Lohgorek citizens. These districts are known for their foundries and smelters, and other districts dedicated to engineering, technological development, masonry, mining, and power production for all of Naremas. However, district 7 is the most infamous district in the city known for being the…er…pleasure district. I don't think I need to explain further._

_Lastly, there's districts 11 through 15, and Central. They're located in the innermost ring of the city. These five districts are known for Leisure, Entertainment, Luxury, Housing the Nobility, and shame…but we'll get to that later. Directly in the middle of the city is Central. It's not considered a district in the eyes of the empire, and is home to all the Naremian Royalty, not to mention the main hub of all the empire's military and political powers. Central's a fortress of power, and it's nearly impossible for anyone outside of the nobility, the royal family, or the military to get in._

_Permanent residents of the ground districts are forbidden to leave districts 1 through 5, unless given special permission to do so by the government, but they can only ever hope to get as far as the industrial districts, but will never be able to visit the peak districts or Central. Also, industrial district citizens have the same, almost non existent hope of traveling to the peak districts, but they can travel freely to the ground at their leisure. And though peak district citizens can travel to any part of the city they so desire, most of them are too stricken with their own pride and arrogance that they don't dare grace us with their presence._

_Regardless, from the moment you're born here, you're assigned to your district, given a number that corresponds with said district, and given your directive. Of course, you're assigned to the same district that your parents are resident too until you're given your directive. You're given said directive based on what talents and abilities you have once they've revealed themselves to you. That is to say, unless you're a child of nobleman or political figure, then your directive will be that of your father's before you. And, you must remain this way, for the rest of your existence._

_Your directive and your district are a declaration of your pedigree. The higher your district number, the more dignity you have in your directive, and the more worth you have in the eyes of the empire. This is why ground district citizens live in squalor, and peak citizens live in paradise._

_Those who run this city, pedigree and power are everything. That woman who attacked you earlier thought you were a district 13 citizen…if that's the case, and you really don't know or remember anything about this city, then you should know about the people of district thirteen. Despite being peak district citizens, they're more hated than the repulsive citizens of district 1. But I'm sure you don't care too much about that…_

* * *

"So," Jack stated, rising to her feet once again, "That's all you really need to know for now…"

"I do have one question," Nathan began, looking genuinely confused, "What the hell is and _Arch_ and a _Lo-_whatever?"

"Oh for God's sake!" Jack grumbled, throwing her palm against her face, "It's like talking to a five year old…"

"Hey!" Nathan hissed, rushing up to her and staring her down, "Listen you little bitch-"

"What," Jack snapped, crossing her arms. Nathan took a deep breath, not taking his eyes off of hers. She was willing to help him, and at the moment he needed her, "That's what I thought…It's a simple enough ideal, if you're an Arch, you were born from a higher pedigree, if you're a Lohgorek, you were a lower pedigree…You can usually tell by looking at someone…and if I wasn't so convinced you're a district 13 citizen, I wouldn't know what to categorize you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan snapped.

"You'll figure it out," Jack smirked, turning to the makeshift door, "Come on, let's go, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

"Where are we going?" He commanded again.

"Has anyone ever told you how rude you are?" Jack replied, raising an eyebrow, "Anyway I'm going to take you to someone who might help. I don't know much about this portal business…but I know someone who does." She continued stepping out into the blinding sun and the dusty streets of the slums. She threw the hood of her burlap cloak over her head and gestured Nathan to follow her, "Keep your head down and stick close…The empire doesn't give a shit about these districts, so criminals run rampant…They'll gouge your eyes out for something as little as the shirt on your back."

"Where are we anyway?" He asked, as the pair stuck to tightly to the shadows.

"This is district four," Jack explained, "But we need to get to district eight…" She continued, gesturing him to continue through the streets, "And it's going to be hell getting through the checkpoints-" She continued before a loud hum rang through the air. It a noise similar to the awful screeching sound that blares through a speaker after a microphone has been turned on.

"Attention citizens of Naremas," A blank, cold, and disturbingly calm voice resounded through the air. It was then when he noticed that there were several old and filthy looking monitors anchored to the outer walls lining the streets of the city. Their faintly glowing screens flickered as the image of a young woman appeared on the screen. She was pale and lovely with deep blue eyes and crimson red hair. She adorned a long and lavish black gown which covered her entire body, and she was sitting on a large gilded throne. She was smiling but the rest of her expression was blank and lifeless, "This is your Queen…"

"Who the hell is that?" Nathan whispered as the streets went silent. Every hooded figure, bystander, and questionable person turned their attention to the monitors and listened.

"That's the Fuhrer-Queen Alchemilla," Jack stated, looking up to him, "King Pious' wife, and the figurehead of the empire."

"Today several fugitives wanted for crimes against the empire have apprehended," She stated in a creepy and pleasant demeanor. Nathan's mouth dropped open as five different photographs appeared upon the screen. His band mates and Charles were shown upon the flickering monitors. They looked as though they had been battered and beaten into submission, and their hands were bound behind their backs. "However it has come to our attention that a one District 13 citizen has evaded capture and is still at large." She continued as a picture of Nathan flashed across the flickering screens, "If you happen to spot this dangerous criminal please do not attempt to apprehend him. Alert the authorities of your designated district. As you know, with the rebellion on the rise, we can not afford to have vagrants running the streets. Your cooperation in helping the empire to apprehend this fugitive will be greatly rewarded." She concluded as the screen flickered and her face disappeared.

"What the f-" Nathan began to shout at his sheer outrage at the thought.

"Run…" Jack interrupted promptly as the citizens began to murmur, moving in closer towards the pair.

"Guards!" A woman in the fray shrieked.

"RUN!" Jack shouted, seizing him by the collar of his shirt.

* * *

"Selatcia," The hooded assailant known as N began, striding up to her master within his dark chamber, "Forgive me for my transgressions against you…but it seems we have a bigger problem on our hands."

"Alchemilla has breached through to our world and stolen Dethklok," Selatcia hissed, staring into darkness, "No doubt she has her own agenda…"

"Every convicted criminal in the city is either sentenced to death or sold for slavery," N began, taking a few steps towards Selatcia, "Something tells me that Dethklok will be subjected to the latter…It also appears as if Nathan has befriended a local," N continued.

"This meager insect will keep him safe," Selatcia growled, "That I am sure…but if the rest of Dethklok will be sold, then we can not guarantee their survival in the dark city…"

"They'll be slaughtered indefinitely if they fail their masters," N added.

"Ensure their survival," Selatcia commanded, walking up to the young woman, "And return them to their proper world. We can not risk them staying in Naremas for much longer, lest they become self aware. Do not fail me again N…"

"Yes Master," She stated, "But what of the Adamas?"

"It has been bonded to Nathan," Selatcia growled, still seething from N's first failure, "Just return them to the proper plane of reality, and I will take care of the rest."

"Yes master," N stated, her body fading from the room within a black vortex, "I live to serve…"

"She can not be trusted Master," Vater Orlaag stated, emerging from the shadows around him, "She cares little for the welfare of the band and their significance on this world and theirs. N is too consumed by her damned pride and leading the Liberation Front to look at what's around her."

"You forget my involvement with the Liberation Front as well," Selatcia replied, narrowing his gaze at Vater Orlaag, "She will not fail me knowing that their may be a chance to unseat the empire…we shall wait and see what becomes of her endeavors…"

* * *

**[Message!] **Ugh! Hello world XD So I really didn't like how this chapter turned out, but oh well :P I wanted to get a good chunk of the back story out of the way so I could finally get on with the main plot and what's going on. Next chapter I promise the rest of Dethklok is going to be introduced and have dialogue :D ANYWAY! Like I said, I feel like this chapter was kind of slapped together (the next one will be better I promise :O) Anyway tell me what you think so far!

Happy Wednesday!


	4. Chapter 4: Here be Monsters

**[Message from Kingdom]: **I'm on vacation...and I shouldn't be updating...I should be enjoying my vacation! ANYWAY! Should I change the rating from T to M? I think I should :/ It would give me a lot more liberties to do whatever the hell I want with it and I wouldn't have to restrict the violence, censor the sex, or ease up on the language (not to mention there's already been quite a bit of language, though it is Dethklok so that's to be expected...especially in this chapter too) :p So tell me what you guys think (PEOPLE Y U NO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK?) Anyway sooooo yeah this chapter was about six pages shorter when I first finished it, but now it's super long :D And as it turns out, I don't like any of it D: Also...first chapter without Nathan…

[herp-a-derp]

Happy Saturday everypony

* * *

_All his life he had continued to feed himself lies about how he was accomplishing some good with his endeavors. Terrible acts were only done by the hands of terrible people, like Selatcia, Forte, or even Nevan, his own brother. But now he had seen what he himself was capable of. What had he done?_

* * *

Chapter IV.

Here be Monsters

"Guys! I ams scareds!" Toki wailed, looking around the bleak, grey, metal walls surrounding them. He, Pickles, Skwisgaar, and Murderface were all bound with their hands tied around their backs and ankles shackled together. They were all corralled in a large metal chamber. It was blisteringly hot, and they were packed together with what could only be described as hundreds of other _things_, behind hefty iron bars.

There were dozens upon dozens of different humanesque creatures, in varying shapes and sizes. There were very few in the crowd that could actually be mistaken for an actual human being. Those that looked relatively human seemed to have several discernable features that set them apart _from _humans. For example, there were quite a few that stood at seven or eight feet high, with narrow faces, and frighteningly thin frames, and upon closer inspection it could be noted that their skin was actually scaled. Or some that appeared completely human, except for slits pupils, or animal-like ears. And that was just an example.

Most of the other occupants of the chamber were grotesque in appearance. They were either fat, oozing, great, useless looking things with flat faces like toads, lizards, or salamanders, and lumpy skin to match. Or hunched and lanky looking things with tentacles where their mouths should have been. In other words, the majority of the prisoners were ugly. And, in addition to being trapped in a crowded cell with an army of eyesores, there was an indescribable and putrid smell that wafted through the air. This was most likely the collective body odor of the varying species. Either way, the powerful stench was more than the four men could handle, and it was making them nauseous.

"What the hell is goin' on!" Pickles exclaimed, looking to his bandmates, "And what happened to Charles?"

"I'm gonna be sick…" Murderface grumbled, green in the face as he watched a slug creature squirm past, spewing fourth a foul smelling, yellow puss on to the ground behind it. They all gagged a little, and wondered how long they were going to have to be stuck here.

"This has gotta be some kinda trip," Pickles gagged, looking around the room at the ugly faces snarling at them, "A really bad trip…that's it…brought on by some shitty shrooms er somethin!"

"Uh Pickle…" Skwisgaar began, turning to the fiery red-head, "I ams not thinksking dats dis ams a trip." And the idea wasn't without merit, but the scene before them seemed to be more than just the result of a bad trip. The smells, sights, and feel of the world unfolding around them felt all too real. But how could this have happened. They didn't remember much, except for a loud banging noise in their ears, a few large and shadowy figures, and the woman with pink hair. Everything else beside that was a blur.

"Alright," One of the hulking black sentries, clutching to some sort of projectile weapon, called into the chamber as several smaller sentries marched in behind him.

"The hell are those things," Murderface whispered to Pickles. But before he could even think of a reasonable response, the largest of the blackened sentries wheezed through the mask fused to its face. Its voice boomed throughout the chamber.

"Archs on one side…Lohgorek on the other," The soldier commanded, as the ugliest of the rooms occupants began to growl and gargle in disapproval (evidently this apparent separation of races happed more often than not), "SILENCE!" It commanded as it fired a shot from its weapon, which resulted in a large explosion above the heads of the prisoners.

"Whats ams we goings to do Pickle!" Toki whispered, sounding scared as the prisoners shuffled quickly to their designated sides, the boys almost losing one another in the chaos. Pickles gulped. Ever since Nathan had gone away, the others had been looking to him for answers. It hadn't been a very long amount of time, but the pressure was starting to get to him.

"That way," He nodded, noting the more 'human' looking group gather on one side. All four of the entertainers did notice something off about the more human end of the spectrum with these people. They were almost too perfect looking (which was most likely why there were so few intermingled with the repulsive things). Regardless, they stood at their designated side, keeping their heads low. The cell gates parted open and a group of people (all varying from hideous beast status, to unnaturally perfect) filed into the large chamber. They were being lead by a direly unfortunate looking woman, who had a yellowish, sagging face that resembled a fish (with the awful painted pink lips of a fish to match). She was a towering woman, dressed in lavish dresses and robes of a broad and bright color spectrum, and gold jewelry hung from her body like ornaments an over decorated Christmas tree. The parade of painted peacocks that followed in behind her were just as bad.

Though half the flaunting crowd was not nearly as unappealing as the fish woman, it was blatantly apparent that these people were here for two reasons: to flaunt their wealth, and perhaps to purchase a slave or two (if they felt so inclined). As they walked through the crowd of prisoners, the smells of indulgent passion and obscene self-importance hit them like a brick wall, and weaved with the already putrid and lingering scents of the prisoners. Gross.

"Every slave in this room is up for purchase," The fish-woman croaked in a voice that sounded as though it had been ravaged by years of alcohol and tobacco abuse. The buyers split apart, and began looking over the faces of the prisoners. Most of them pooled to the 'Arch' side and began eying up the boys, looking at them in confusion, "Please present your payments to my…_assistants_ before leaving." She concluded with a wrinkly and stretched smile.

"Whats ams your problem!" Toki exclaimed as a man with a goatee and slick brown hair, dressed in a clean white suit lifted Toki's shirt over his head, almost immediately upon entering the cell chamber.

"This one will make an excellent first attack-man," He stated, as he turned to a young woman clutching a clip-board beside him, "Wouldn't you say Alessa?"

"Of course sir," His mousy assistant smiled and nodded as she adjusted her glasses, "He has the physical makings of an excellent addition to the team."

"Then it's decided," He stated proudly, as he turned to the fish-woman, "I'll take this one!" He called as one of the beastly sentries unlocked Toki's shackles and pushed him towards the man and woman, who seized him by the arm and pulled him out of the cell. Toki looked back at his remaining band mates with wide blue eyes that were calling out for help. Pickles snarled and attempted to rise to his feet, but the restraints were more restrictive than he had initially thought. Not to mention, as soon as he began to struggle, one of the guards thrust their knee into the side of his torso, knocking him flat on his face.

"That's enough!" One of them wheezed through the filter melded to its face.

"Ugh…damn fugitives…" Another one of them grunted as their glowing red, mechanical eyes glared down at the remaining three, "Think the whole world owes them something for being nothing more than filthy criminals…"

"We didn't do anything-" Pickles exclaimed in protest, before being kneed in the stomach, hard, one more time.

"I hate the smell of this place," The other stated, once Pickles appeared to be incapacitated, and they walked away from the group, to a rowdier looking huddle.

"Fuck this…" Pickles growled, spitting on the ground, some blood in his mouth, and dripping down the corner of his lip.

"Where do you think they're gonna take Toki?" Murderface asked the remaining members of Dethklok, once it appeared safe for them to speak.

"I dunno…" Pickles replied, coughing slightly, "I didn't think anyone would buy us!"

"Hmm," An ugly toad man grumbled, pushing past everyone in his path to reach the boys. He immediately seized Murderface by the chin and began to examine him.

"Hey! HEY!" A young woman snapped, slapping the toad-man's hand away from his face. He growled at the young woman, but she gently pushed him away from the remaining men, "Yeah move it along punk!" she snapped shooing him away, "I already bought and paid for this one so you can forget about it! Yeah that's right! Keep on walkin!" She shouted, "Nothin to see here!" She was about twenty-four, with pale skin littered with freckles, green eyes, and bright orange hair, that was pulled back into a wild and spiky ponytail. She was dressed in a blue mechanic's jumpsuit, but the top half was unzipped, pulled down off of her, and tied around her waist, so nothing was covering her on top except for a black bra. In addition to that, she was wearing thick and filthy mechanic's gloves, black flats, and goggles hanging from her neck.

"Okay so I didn't actually buy you yet…" She then whispered, turning to Murderface, "But I need a new employee, I'm great to work for, I promise I'll pay you well, I'll give you a place to stay, and I really, really, _really _don't want to employ another Lohgorek because even though this sounds racist they're so so so not good for business and you look like an arch AND you look like you can pull your weight around a shop-"

_Does this this girl ever stop to BREATHE!_ Murderface thought.

"So I would so so appreciate it if you wouldn't mind working for me, because think about it you won't get a better offer than me!" She concluded, finally taking a breath, "So what do you say?"

"Uh-" He began, Not sure what to think of this girl.

"That's a yes!" She stated with a triumphant grin as she took a cigarette from the box in her pocket, "YO! Someone unlock this guy!" She squawked, pointing to Murderface and taking out a silver lighter. They obliged her whishes and pushed him towards the red-haired woman, as she dragged him from the cell by the collar of his shirt.

"This one looks promising," A rich looking man (and either his mistress, or his wife) began as he looked over Pickles, "With a haircut, he'd make a fine butler."

"Fuck off," He replied, spitting at his feet.

"How dare you!" He growled, crossing his arms and snarling down at the red-head, "Guards! Show this one some respect!" He called out, pointing down at him. The blackened sentry strode back over to Pickles, gripping the hilt of his weapon. He winced, waiting for the guard to deliver his punishment.

_My damn mouth…_Pickles thought, _Always gettin me in trouble…_

"Stop…" What sounded like an older woman (perhaps sixty), began. She had a thick Asiatic accent, though what he saw when he looked up didn't match the voice at all. She was over eight feet tall, with a thin, narrow, feline face and narrow gold eyes. She was dressed in a long, red silk day robe, and nothing else. She didn't have a tail, and she had normal hands, and long black hair, but her body was covered in a sleek black fur. She gripped the hilt of the Sentry's weapon, just as it was about to strike at him. The guard looked up at the woman and grunted at her with disapproval, but inevitably yielded.

"He seems to be a problem convict Ma'am," It wheezed, turning to her.

"Mameha will take him…" She stated flatly, biting down on the end of a long-necked pipe, and blowing sweet smelling tobacco smoke in Pickle's face, "This one has promise…so much fire…" She stated, seizing his face and looking into his eyes. She didn't seem to be very expressive, but then again…she was a big cat…

"Are you sure Mameha?" A smarmy looking, little thing with a clammy face of a frog or toad, huge yellow eyes, and a thin layer of greasy hair sitting on its sickly green head, wearing a dark purple robe that covered most of his body asked the feline woman. He had a sharp English accent, which seemed almost contradictory as compared to his presumed employer (or master), "Looks like a little bastard to me."

"The fuck did you just say!" Pickles growled, forgetting he was restrained (again) for a moment. The cat woman then laughed slightly, taking another long inhale from her pipe. She tussled his orange dreadlocks, and slid her soft hands down his face to stroke his goatee. Something struck him about her in that moment, but he couldn't place what it was. There was just something off about her (I mean…other than the fact that she was a cat…) it was almost as if…he remembered her? No. That's not possible. He definitely would have remembered a giant cat-lady if he had ever met one.

"Yes," She nodded with a slight smile, gesturing for someone to unlock him, "He will do quite nicely." She then added, turning to her clammy lackey. One he was freed from his shackles, she took him by the arm and dragged him out of the cell.

_No big deal…_ He thought, laughing quietly to himself at the absurdity of the situation, _Just been bought by a big talking cat…because that's normal!_

Skwisgaar gulped, looking around the cell, still packed with prisoners. The other either glared and snarled at him, or laughed, licking their lips, and making obscene gestures at the thin and fair man. He had never felt more uncomfortable in his life, and that was saying something. He was now completely alone, but not for long.

An enthralling young woman passed by him, and they locked eyes. For a moment she looked shocked to see him, but her disposition faded and she smiled at him with a blinding white smile. She was small in stature but had a svelte figure and fair skin, which played nicely against her long and luxurious blonde hair and silver eyes. She was dressed in a lavish black gown that exposed her shoulders and a slit up the side of the gown which showed brief flashes of her thigh. She gripped tightly to the black parasol in her hands, shielding her face from the other _occupants_ of the room.

"Excuse me sir," She began striding up to one of the sentries, clutching to the shackle keys, "I would be so kind as to unlock that young man? I would be so _so _very grateful, and I really don't want anyone to snatch him up…I promise to present my payment just as soon as he's freed." She began, batting her eyes, and running a lacey-gloved finger down the monstrous guard's face.

"Of course…" It wheezed through its mask as it fumbled, grabbing for its keys. It took hold of them and clicked the lock on his shackles, setting him loose, "Anything for a respected Arch citizen…"

"Ahem…" She coughed, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, as she rolled her eyes at its incompetence, "His hands? They're still bound…" She demanded, nodding to the bindings on his wrists, rolling her eyes once again, "So unprofessional…I mean really…what kind of slave trade are you trying to conduct here?" She scoffed, sticking her nose upwards (as it was apparent that she was a bit of a snob), "I thought this was a professional exchange." The sentry looked at her with disapproval as it cut the thick rope keeping his arms bound behind his back, "Thank you."

She smiled, blowing the guard a kiss and taking Skwisgaar by the arm and guiding him out of the cell. She said nothing until they exited the filthy warehouse, and stepped out into the darkened streets of the city (She never bothered to pay for him either. In the midst of the exchange, no one had noticed that she just slipped by). There was a pristine, white automobile waiting for them, that looked much like an antique limousine from the outside, but a stylish and modern luxury car on the inside. It was cool on the inside, and it smelled nice, like gardenias and jasmine, a drastic improvement to the chamber inside. It was then when he realized that he must have taken on the residual scent of the other prisoners which must have been why her other hired hands looked at him with such offense. The woman's entourage opened the door for them and they gently guided her inside. He climbed in after her, and her attendants slammed the doors, and the vehicle began driving towards their destination.

"Alright listen," She began, her demeanor shifting as she looked over to the guitarist, "My name is Serena, I'm the daughter of a late nobleman, and I live in the luxury quarter of the peak district." She began to explain as she leaned in closer to him, "I know your name is Skwisgaar, and that you're not from here…I also know that where you come from, you're hailed as a god…"

"How-" He began, looking completely lost.

"I'll explain everything once we get to the peak district," Serena then explained, "Something you should know now…its not safe anywhere in this city." She sighed, leaning back on the plush velvet seat, "Now…enough of this talk…lets hurry back home and get you in a presentable order. You look positively dreadful."

* * *

"It's not much," The red-haired young woman began as she gestured Murderface inside. She pulled a pocketknife from her jumpsuit and cut the ropes around his wrists free. He shook his hands for a few seconds, trying to get the blood flowing through them again. It wasn't a horrible place. Actually, it was a vast improvement. It was clean, with white stucco walls and very basic furniture. They stepped into a small, square living room, with one large window that looked out into the dismal streets. There was a small grey couch with two matching chairs, a hardwood floor, an old red carpet, coffee table, and wooden stand with a small black monitor sitting on top. A television of sorts perhaps?

The apartment was above a large garage which was already housing a few vehicles that needed repairs. The dwelling did have a faint scent of octane, oil, and engine grease, but that was to be expected, living above a garage. It was a sizable dwelling, though the view was poor. Whenever they looked out of the windows, they were greeted by a jungle of dark metal factories, towering dismal looking buildings, and a thick layer of smog that hung over the district and shrouded the skyline, making the view rather grey, "but…ya know…it's home…So you'll start to work tomorrow, know anything about fixing vehicles?" She asked walking through the living room as she lazily kicked off her shoes and headed into the kitchen. She seemed rather comfortable with having a strange man in the house. Perhaps it was normal in this world to invite total strangers in your house. Still, it didn't mean that he wasn't going to try anything once he tested the waters (that was just the kind of person he was).

"Kinda," He scoffed, rolling his eyes, watching the slender creature walk into the kitchen. She wasn't _super hot _or anything, but she was pretty cute.

"That's better than nothin!" She laughed, reemerging from the kitchen with two green glass bottles in her hand. She extended one out to Murderface, who took it reluctantly, "Relax…it's just a beer…" She replied, throwing back a gulp, and sitting down on the worn out couch within the room. She did have a very man-ish air about her, just in the way she walked and her manner of speaking, "Hey listen…I'm sorry I couldn't swing the money for your friends…but I really only needed one of you, and money is super tight around here-"

"I don't really give a fuck," Murderface began, cutting her off. He felt like she was a rambler, and didn't want to be trapped in her stream of endless talking.

"Hey!" She snapped, punching him hard in the arm, "Watch your mouth! There's a kid livin here too…And as long as you're living here, you have to respect that!"

"Ah god damn it!" Murderface grumbled, just before being hit in the arm again, "I hate kids!"

"Yeah well I'm sure they hate you too," She replied, taking a swig of beer, "Anyway…oh…wow…I'm such a bitch…" She then laughed, shaking her head, "I never even told you my name…I'm Olive, by the way. You know, might be good to know your boss' name."

"I'm William…thanks for asking…" He grumbled, taking a drink. It was cold, and after being stuck it that hot cell with hundreds of those other repulsive and putrid things, exuding their own heat in such a crowded space, it was a welcome sensation.

"Right…" She laughed as she shrugged, "I'm just gonna call you Will…Anyway, your friends, why don't you care about 'em? The four of you seemed pretty tight back there?"

"Listen sweetheart-" He began.

"Don't ever call me sweetheart," Olive stated, completely deadpan.

"Fine," He replied, rolling his eyes, "_Olive_…anyway, we're not friends. We're…"

"It's like your obligated to each other," Olive suggested, looking over to him, "That it?"

"Yeah," He stated with a nod as he turned to her. She had actually hit the nail right on the head, "I guess you could say that."

"So what are you to each other," She asked, slouching over the couch. So unladylike, but she was a mechanic (not that it was an excuse), "I guess what I'm asking is…what's your story? What the hell did you do to piss off the empire badly enough for them to sell you to slavery?"

"I don't even know what's going on!" He shouted, turning to her. Olive bit her lip and scratched her head.

"You seem pretty calm for someone who hasn't the slightest clue," She laughed, untying her hair, and letting her wild orange hair fly out in every direction, "So…I guess start from the beginning then." Olive shrugged.

And so he did. He proceeded to tell his new employer about how he used to be part of the world's most famous band, a component in the force driving the economy, politics, and the world itself. And truthfully, none of them particularly cared for each other (well, except for Nathan and Pickles who seemed to have a bond), it was more like tolerance. They made each other rich, and in their eyes, that was enough to keep them 'friends'. She was absolutely right about their relationship to one another. It was completely obligatory, and the more he told her about their past exploits with one another, she realized that they really _didn't _care. Olive simply listened, taking casual sips from her bottle as she did so.

"And then some crazy pink-haired bitch with one eye bursts into our house," Murderface continued angrily, "Beats the shit out of our servants, kicks the crap out of Charles, ties us up and the next thing I know I'm being sold as a slave to _you_!"

Olive took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. Something struck her funny about that statement, and he knew he had struck a nerve, simply by looking at her. He was waiting for her to laugh or tell him his story was far fetched. But she didn't. Instead she rose to her feet and walked over to a nearby end table. There was what looked like a thin silver tablet sitting on the table, but one could see through the touch screen, and the frame wasn't completely connected. It looked as though she was scrolling through air, but upon closer inspection, one could see the transparent screen. She pulled up some sort of article, of which were the pictures of Dethklok and Charles. She walked over to him and showed him the transparent tablet, practically shoving it in his face.

"The lead singer of you band," She asked, pointing to one of the pictures, and recalling Murderface's description of Nathan, "He look anything like this guy?" She asked. He stopped, and took the tablet from her, staring into the slightly flickering screen.

"Well yeah, that's Nathan!" He exclaimed, looking up at her. Olive bit her lip, furrowed her brow, and scratched her head one more time

"He's been on the run for a day or two," Olive stated, "No one has been able to evade arrest by the empire for more than a few hours. I gotta tell you…if he's been able to stay free for this long, your boy's got balls. Anyway…did the chick who kidnapped you look anything like this?" She asked, pulling up another photograph of a young woman with long, bright pink hair.

"Yeah," He nodded, taking a swig of beer, "That's the bitch that attacked us." He growled, staring into the picture. Super hot, in his opinion, but high sexual appeal was no excuse for beating them senseless and selling them to slavery.

"That's Force Commander Kiryu," Olive began, taking the tablet and shutting it off, "And you're right about one thing…she's the queen of all cunts…" she continued, sitting down next to Murderface, and crossing her arms. It was apparent that this _Kiryu _woman wasn't popular, "She's the eyes and ears of this city. If anything the empire would find _unfavorable_, she'll know all about it before anything goes down, and she'll be there to stop it. She does whatever they tell her to do without question. Truth be told…she's the reason that I've got a kid."

"How the hell is it her fault?" Murderface laughed.

"It's complicated," Olive stated, lifting her bottle off of the table, "…damn it…" She sighed, leaning back on the chair.

"Hmm?" He asked, turning to her.

"Well it sounds to me like we gotta find your _friends _and get you home," Olive stated, taking a cigarette from the box in her pocket, "I'll cut you a deal," She began, sitting more upright and crossing her arms, "I'm in a lot of debt you see…the Empire is making it harder and harder for non peak-district citizens to live. We can barely pay our rents, let alone feed our families. What I'm offering is this…you work for me long enough to pay back some of my debts, and I'll help you find your _friends_ and see if there's any way to get you back home."

"Yeah right," He replied, rolling his eyes, "How are you gonna manage that?"

"If there's a way to bring you here," Olive stated, "From…wherever it was you came from, there's a way to bring you back. I know quite a few people in this city…and one of them's guaranteed to know how to get you back."

"What if I don't agree…" He asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked her over.

"You're free to go whenever you like," She stated with a large grin as she flung the living room door open, "But I'm telling you now, if you're not brought straight back here by the city patrols, then you'll either be sent back to the slave pens, or sentenced to death…neither of which I'm sure you'd want. So…take your pick…work here for a while, free place to crash, free food, protection, and eventually go home. Or you could leave, have no home, no food, no protection, be re-enslaved to some rich-bitch family who will have you cleaning toilets for the rest of your life, or potentially _die_. Me…or leaving…I'd pick me…but that's just my opinion."

He laughed. He liked this girl, not in a sexual way, but there was just something about her. He didn't say anything, he just took another drink and leaned back in the couch. She grinned once again. That was answer enough for her. She lifted a dark blue mechanic's jumpsuit off of the small table beside the door and walked over to him. She tossed it in his lap and walked across the living room to a small hallway.

"We start back to work tomorrow morning!"

* * *

"They are safe," N stated, walking through Selatcia's greeting chamber. With every deep breath he took, the bluish-green flames of the metal braziers swelled with the control of his breath. She strode confidently past the flames, the trains of her grey cowl fluttering behind her, "For now…"

"And Nathan?" He asked flatly, turning his head just slightly to catch a glimpse of her. He heard her let out a sigh of frustration.

"He's on the run from the Naremas authorities…" She stated, crossing her arms, "He seems to have befriended one of the locals."

"That could prove to be more of a curse than a gift, N," Selatcia stated, turning to her, "You and I shall travel to the city tonight, and gather Dethklok, before anything else should go awry."

"Master that may be more complicated than just retrieving the boys and returning home," She began. Selatcia turned to her and gave her an angry look, "Serena was unable to purchase all of them. Though she knows where they are…for the most part."

"Who purchased them!" Selatica demanded, striding up to N.

"Toki was purchased by a an agent in the Entertainment District," N began, "Most likely a team owner. If that _is _the case, then it will be hard to not hear about him in the media."

"Excellent," Selatcia nodded, his dark demeanor lightening for just a moment, "And what of the others?"

"Serena was able to obtain Skwisgaar," N continued, "No doubt she's taken him back to the luxury district and he's safe. William was taken by a mechanic. I don't know who she is, but I have Serena doing all the research she can."

"And…" Selatcia continued, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"Mameha has one of them," N stated after a few moments of silence, "The famous Alkahestry Master."

"Which…one…" Selatcia stated, turning away from her and seething with anger.

"Who do you think?" N asked, crossing her arms.

"Damn it woman!" He shouted, the flames around them exploding throughout the room as he rushed back over to her, "Do you know the repercussions if ANY of them should regain their vagrant memories!"

"I am aware…" N stated darkly, "But do you suppose that Mameha-"

"Remembers who he is?" Selatica interrupted, calming down slightly, "Yes…I do."

"There is one more thing," N began, walking up to him, "Charles was _not _among those up for purchase at the exchange."

"He is either being sentenced to death…" Selatcia began, "Or…"

"Or what Master?" N inquired.

"Come…" He commanded, summoning a dark vortex behind him, "We mustn't waste any time."

"Sir," She then began, seizing him by the arm, just before transiting through to the next plane of reality, "Stay here…I will go…"

"No," Selatcia replied, brushing her hand away from him, "You can't be trusted on your own any longer." He concluded, before phasing through the vortex.

"Stubborn man…" N hissed following after Selatcia.

The rift tore through to the other side, and Selatcia stepped out on to what appeared to the be the dark metal passageways and smog filled streets of one of the industrial districts. N tumbled out of the void behind him, rolling to her feet, as she quickly threw the her dark grey cowl back over her head.

"Come," He commanded, as he continued down the streets. Without another command or gesture, N followed him blindly throughout the factory-lined streets of the middle city.

"I am telling you," N stated, seizing Selatcia's arm, "Something isn't right…and you shouldn't be here!"

Selatcia turned and gave her a dark look. He then let out a sigh and gently brushed her hand away from him. N was one of the few people in existence who wasn't afraid of him. He respected that, and was bothered by it at the same time. He turned to her and opened his mouth as though to say something, though before any words could escape, he was interrupted by a loud explosion, the sounds of screams, and shattering glass. They both turned to the sight behind them. All they happened to see was a burst of dust and smoke flying towards them. Both Selatcia and N threw their arms in front of their eyes. Neither could see much through the haze, but N caught a glimpse of what looked like a large, dark, slender, animal-like creature.

_God damn it!_ She thought, seizing her master by the arm and rushing from the fray, and praying that he didn't see it, _How the hell did one of those get inside the city!_

* * *

[The plot thickens...leave a review? I would really appreciate it]


	5. Chapter 5: Titanium

_She quelled the rage within her. Every time someone uttered his name, she felt bitter, bitter anger. It was easy to take his defiant and insolent nature and make him the villain in this story. But Nathan didn't deserve to die. In her eyes, he deserved so much more…_

* * *

Chapter V.

Titanium

Nathan and his newfound confidant headed through the back alleys of the slums, inching ever so slowly towards the black factories in the industrial districts. It had been a day or so (he couldn't tell…it seemed that days here seemed to last longer than they did at home) and the blood orange sun hung rather low above the city, and the oppressive heat barred down on them. It was about sunset, and night was falling, but the heat didn't let up for a minuet. Nathan let out a long growl as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The heat didn't seem to bother Jack too much, but then again, she did live here, and she was dressed a bit more appropriately for such climates. She had ditched her thick burlap cloak, and showed that she was dressed in a pair of extremely short, tan shorts, a black tank top ripped off at the midriff, and an olive green tactical jacket. She wore black, semi-opaque stockings that stretched up to her lower thigh, and worn black sneakers that made her feet look much bigger than they actually were.

"Isn't there like a bus…or a train…or something we can take!" Nathan growled, looking up at the deep orange sky, "This weather is fucking killing me…"

"No dice," Jack replied, shaking her head, "We could have taken the monorail," She stated, pointing to a thin silver track sitting some thirty or forty feet overhead, "But the guards will take one look at you and arrest us both…" She stated, crossing her arms. Nathan let out another dissatisfied grumble. Walking all this way in the heat was beneath him. Jack then turned to him and gave him a sharp look, "Stop whining…"

"I'm not whining," He growled, following after her through the alleys, "I'm _complaining_…" Nathan continued crossing his arms. Jack rolled his eyes at him, turned away and continued to walk. He then smiled deviously, as the gears turned in his head, as he took a deep breath, "It's _sooo _hot!" He then wailed in a grinding, high, and irritating voice, "And I'm _sooo _tired of walking…And I wanna stop! My feet hurt! I'm thirsty! Can't we stop! Eew I'm sweaty and my shirt is all sticky! It's gonna leave a stain! _Jaaaaaaaack_!"

"Oh my god!" She shouted, turning around to face him as she gripped the roots of her hair. He crossed his arms and gave her a playful smile, "Just shut up!"

"But I thought you wanted whining!" Nathan replied in the same abrasive and irritating voice. Jack growled, and turned away from him as Nathan laughed quietly.

"Listen…" Jack then stated, turning around one more time, "I understand…this sucks, it's hot, and we have to get all the way to the eleventh district…I know we're not even close, and it's going to take _days _to get there but at the very least can we _tolerate _one another until we get there?" She asked, "Here…now stop complaining and make yourself useful…" She snapped, tossing him a brown leather satchel, that had been hanging at her side for some time now.

"Fine," He replied, throwing the bag over his shoulder, as he shrugged. Though, this begged the question; if she was having such a difficult time putting up with him, why didn't she just abandon him? Let him find his own way? To her, he was an investment. She saved him, so she felt obligated to help him return home. It was too bad that Nathan didn't feel the same obligation towards Jack.

"So tell me about yourself Nathan," Jack then stated after several long moments of silence. They both began to scale a rusty, blackened, chain-link fence, that abutted the two tall clay buildings lining the alley. Truthfully speaking, they hadn't spoken to one another much, in the past few days. Nathan didn't want to establish any kind of interest or connection. He just wanted to get home.

"Why the sudden interest?" He asked, struggling with the fence. The links were rough and jagged, and digging into his skin, making small cuts in his palms. Jack was already perched on top, and she extended her hand out towards him. There weren't any scars or cuts in her skin at all, which struck him as odd. Shouldn't someone who has been living like this for sometime be a little more battered. She had a few marks on her face, but nothing too serious.

"Don't you want to know anything about me?" She asked, pulling him upward and jumping down to the other side.

"Not really," He replied with a shrug as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, as she looked down at the ground. Ungrateful bastard, "But what do _you _want to know?"

"Family?" She asked. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow, and she gave him a slight smile and an expectant look.

"Mom and dad…." He stated flatly, "That's about it."

"No brothers or sisters?" She inquired.

"No," He replied, as if disgusted by the thought. She looked a little saddened, but he didn't really care, "Siblings…would be hell…"

"I don't follow?" She stated, tiling her head to the side as she listened to him. He took a deep breath and shook his head slightly.

"I think it would suck…" He replied, "That's all…what about you?" She then looked up to him with some confusion, "You said you have a sister…"

"Uh…yeah," Jack replied with a slight smile, "I have two actually…and a brother."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, showing something that was dangerously close to resembling interest.

"Vincent and Callen," She began, "They're both older, military too…and then there's Hunter…she's only seven. She's living with a friend at the moment…"

"Why's that?" He asked. As if he needed to though. Who in their right mind would subject a child to this kind of lifestyle.

"It's kind of a long story," Jack concluded, not bothering to explain her situation, "Anyway…so tell me about your friends."

"They're not really _friends_," He began. She furrowed her brow, not particularly understanding him. Nathan opened his mouth once again, but he was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound in the distance, followed by screams and the sounds of wreckage.

"What was that!" Jack exclaimed, sounding worried, as she turned to the direction of the noises' origin. But before either of them could catch their bearings, the nearest wall to them burst, throwing dust and debris in their faces. Both of them coughed and waved the dust and smoke from their line of vision. There was a deep, heavy growling sound coming from the haze, and Nathan wrenched his eyes open just enough to catch a glimpse at whatever it was with them. It looked like a huge stag, or an elk. No…it wasn't an elk, but it seemed to be wearing the skull of one. It had a grey-skinned torso of a human, and thick arms and legs covered in oily black hair, and long gnarled paws for hands. Its face couldn't be seen, but behind the skull mask, there were two empty and hollow sockets for eyes, with two small red, glowing pupils. Beneath the skull, it seemed that the creature had no lower jaw, and it's rotting teeth hung in blackened gums, while a deep red tongue slithered around in front of it, as if it was trying to taste them. The creature smelled like rotting flesh and dried blood, and its scent was pungent enough to reach the pair from such a distance.

"The hell is that thing?" Nathan exclaimed, taking a step backwards.

"How should I know?" Jack snapped, stepping out in front of him. That was laughable. How was a young woman of her stature possibly going to defend him from something like this?He immediately thought that if he couldn't fare against it, neither would she.

Jack pulled a sizable switchblade from one of the many pockets on her person, opening the knife as quickly as she could. Her stance was solid and acceptable, so she did know how to fight. Without another thought, the thing leapt towards them both. Jack and Nathan quickly ducked out of it's path, after which, Jack didn't waste any time. She gripped the slimy hair creeping down its back and pulled herself on to it. She locked her legs around the creature's shoulders as it began to buck an flail in an attempt to get her off of it. She gripped tightly to her knife, and dug it into the neck of the beast. It let out a loud screech as it began to thrash harder. Jack tried ripping the knife from the beast's neck, but as she pulled and wrenched at it, the monster's thick skin proved to be too much, and snapped the blade in two.

She growled as she took hold of the skull covering the beast's face. She let out a frustrated scream as she began to pry the mask from its face. Several tissues and tendons began to tear and snap as it let out howls of pain, both of them now noticing that it wasn't a mask, but its face. Jack continued to pull at it, grinding her teeth as she did so. It was then when Nathan noticed something interesting, and slightly disturbing.

The skin around and above Jack's elbows was beginning to tear. It was as though she was ripping her own arms off in an attempt to tear the face off of this creature. Truly, it was a brutal sight. Jack let out one final scream, as her forearms separated from her body, her hands still gripping to the creature's bony face.

She went stumbling to the ground. She was bleeding pretty significantly as she struggled to pull herself off of the ground (missing her arms, this proved to be quite difficult). But among her own tendons, and frayed muscle and skin tissue, there was a collection of wires, gears, circuits, and bits of scrap metal.

"Damn it…" She growled, breathing heavily as Nathan propped her upright, noting that the now furious creature was encroaching on them. Jack then faded from consciousness, as Nathan tried to shake her awake.

"No! No! No!" He exclaimed, shaking Jack by the collar of her shirt, "Wake up Jack! Please!" But her head fell limply at her side. He then laid her down on the ground as he took several steps back. For a moment, he thought about leaving her to be devoured by the beast. No, he wasn't going to do that. Jack had stuck her neck out for him, and she deserved better than that.

He panicked. He turned around to run, but the chain link was in the way, and it would surely catch them both if he tried to climb it.

_I'm going to die…_He thought, eyes wide as it moved forward, taunting him like he was its prey, _No…I can't die! This isn't how it's supposed to end! I-I don't want to die! I don't want to die!_

_Then fight for it…_A small voice whispered in his head. The smooth metal brace around his wrist then began to glow a deep violet color and began to radiate with a dark and hot energy that he felt pulse through his veins, _You know what to do…_

"You're right…" He whispered, looking down at the item as his eyes turned black, the relic fused to his arm sparking with dark energy, "I…remember now…" He whispered, looking crazed as he turned to the beast.

He rushed towards it, and gripped the skeletal face of the monster. The dark energy surged through his arm, and shattered the bony mask of the beast. It seemed as though it was paralyzed, unable to stop him from unleashing his potential un to it. The creature radiated with energy as it glowed brighter and brighter, before being lost in a surge of dark violet light. When the light dissipated, there was nothing left of the beast except a pile of blackened, oily, organic material. Nathan's eyes then faded back to normal, and he seemed to be himself again.

Ignoring what had just happened, he turned back to Jack, who was still unconscious. He lifted her off of the ground, and looked around the alley. He was completely at a loss. One thing was certain: Jack was going to die unless he did something. There had to be something in the bag she had given him that might help. He rifled through it for a few moments. Nothing. It just seemed like personal effects. He let out a loud and frustrated grumble as he ripped off his shirt and began ripping it into pieces with the broken switchblade. He tied the torn shreds around each of her wounds, making a primitive tourniquet.

_She won't make it_, He thought, carrying her in his arms, "What do I do?" He asked himself.

"Nathan!" A voice called from above him. He looked up. Sitting on a broken ledge of one of the crumbling shacks, was her. The woman from the anthropology museum. It was her fault, all of this. But now was not the time to call her on it, or start another fight. It was his responsibly to help Jack. Her grey cowl was thrown over her head, still masking her face, and this time she was dressed in some kind of catsuit, "Quickly! Go, Now!" She commanded, throwing her hand out in front of her. A similar portal to the one that he had fallen through at the beginning of this mess.

"Wh-" He began.

"Just GO!" She growled. Without another word, he nodded and dove through the portal, Jack hanging limply in his arms. However, as he headed through, he noticed a similar smooth metal brace on her arm as well. Was it possible that whatever this thing was, there was more than one. Obviously she knew how to use it, and she could use it to get to here from home. Maybe, if he could find her again, he could make her tell him how to use it.

"Where did they go!" Selatcia commanded, rushing up behind her, just after the portal had disappeared.

"No idea," N replied, turning around to face her master, "They must have escaped in time." Selatcia didn't believe her, but it was hard to argue with the fact that they were no longer there. He jumped down off of the ledge and strode over towards the black splatter that was once the creature. He touched the residue and rubbed the oily remains in between his fingers.

"I've never seen anyone obliterate a Proxy in this manner before," Selatcia stated darkly, turning to his companion.

"What was a Proxy doing in the city in the first place?" N asked, sounding worried and confused.

"They're aren't even supposed to exist in this plane of reality," Selatcia stated, narrowing his gaze as he turned back to the remains, "If Nathan continued to sport the Adamas without knowing how to use it…the fabric of reality will surely crumble, maybe sooner than we had anticipated." He continued, looking up to the sky.

"I don't understand," N then stated, looking down at the brace attached to her arm, "Why is Nathan's Adamas so important? There's more than one…why can't I just put a stop to the dimensional planes falling to ruin?"

"Consciously," Selatcia stated, lifting up his sleeve to reveal one of his own. N was taken aback by this. How long had Selatcia been wearing one as well? "You know the answer to that…" He stated, throwing his sleeve back down.

"Right…" N nodded as her Master began heading down the alley.

Meanwhile, Nathan stumbled out of the rift that N had created for them, Jack still in his arms. He shook his head, attempting to get his bearings. Traveling through portals was not a fun experience. The city goers stopped their motion and activities as they saw the brutish looking man, and the bleeding girl stumble out of the rift torn in the fabric of reality. They whispered and mumbled, looking with somewhat scared, with wide eyes as his vision came into focus (although, one look at some of their faces, Nathan had more of a reason to be scared of them than they of him).

He looked around at his new surroundings. Tall dark, grey metal buildings and structures surrounded him on all sides. A thick black haze hung in the sky, from the towering factories spewing out smoke. It stunk of oil, metal, octane, and things burning. Painted on a few of the buildings were the words _District 08_ painted in bright yellow. Wasn't this the district that Jack wanted to get to in the first place? But that didn't matter. He turned around, hoping that there would be some indication of where to go. There was a sizable, concrete building behind him that stood a few stories high. A large red sign stood above the glass entrance door, and what three metal garage doors.

_Callaghan's Body and Parts; Auto and Appendage repairs_: it read.

_A body shop!_ Nathan though angrily, biting his lip in frustration, _I don't need to fix a car! I need to fix her!_ He thought angrily. He looked down at Jack, and at her dismembered body, and let out a frustrated sigh. If he had a free hand, he would have smacked his forehead.

"_Body _shop…" He grumbled, rolling his eyes, and looking back up to the sign. "Auto and _appendage_…Duh…" He continued, heading into the building, shaking his head. There was something kind of humorous, though twisted about this situation. Something about fixing amputees like cars was ironic.

"Can I help you?" she asked flatly, sitting at a dull grey desk within the small lobby of the garage. She was flipping through a magazine, and chewing on what looked like a neon green twizzler.

"Yeah," He growled, commanding her attention. The lithe redhead looked up at him with a contemptuous glare, but immediately directed her attention to the girl in his arms.

"Jack!" She sighed in frustration as she rushed from behind the desk, "Damn it…not again!" She continued, pulling Jack from his arms like she was a rag doll.

"This happens often?" He asked sounding confused and frustrated, following after her, through the garage and to a metal lift at the opposite side of the room.

"Obviously you don't know Jack too well," She continued, throwing Jack over her shoulder. He wasn't exactly comfortable with her throwing her around like that, but there wasn't much he could do about it, "She goes through a set of arms every other week." She snapped (rather casually, as though dismemberment was a common occurrence) as Nathan jumped on to the lift behind her. She pressed one of the buttons and the platform began to descend into a much more sterile looking space, "Girl owes me a fortune in prosthetics…" She snapped, heading into the small but clean room.

She headed down the hall, adjacent to the lift, and pushed open one of two doors at their sides, and stepped into another small white room, outfitted with standard medical equipment. She placed Jack down on to the metal surgical table in the center of the room and then immediately turned to Nathan.

"Out," She commanded, pointing at the door, "Now." He rolled his eyes and slammed the door behind him. He didn't care for this mechanic very much. "Will! Get down here now!" He then heard her voice ring throughout the halls. Loudspeaker no doubt.

"Ahw what the fuck does she want now!" A familiar voice growled, after several long moments of silence. The old metal lift began to grind and moan as it descended once again. Nathan turned and noticed the metal grate sliding open as the lift ground to a halt. Two figures stepped off of the lift, the first was a child, and the second, an adult, a man.

"Maybe Liv is going to do an amputation!" The child, a little girl, chirped excitedly, rushing into the small and sterile opening, "You think she'll let me watch this time!"

"Don't get your hopes up kid…" The other replied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh come on!" She whined, chasing after him, "Don't you think that it would be cool?"

"Well yeah!" He replied, "It'd be fuckin awesome!"

"M…Murderface?" Nathan asked, interrupting the pair. He stood in disbelief, staring at the former bass player, who happened to be staring at him, equally confused, "Wh-what are you doing here!" He exclaimed.

"What are _YOU _doing here!" Murderface responded in disbelief, "I thought-"

"I was in Canada," Nathan interrupted, "Yeah I was…"

"Some pink haired bitch attacked you right?" He interrupted. Nathan shook his head in frustration.

"No…that didn't happen till after I got here!" He snapped, holding up his hand, "Murderface…how did you get here? Where's everybody else?"

"Will I need you in here NOW!" Olive called, throwing open the door and sticking her freckled face out in the hallway. Murderface just stared at her with a blank expression for a moment before Olive let out a frustrated growl and seized him by the arm, pulling him into the room.

"What's going on!" The little girl accompanying them chimed, trying to catch a peek.

"Hunter stay out of the room!" Olive snapped, as Nathan could see through the fogged glass that she was washing off her hands and placing a greenish mask over her face.

"Hi," She then stated, turning to Nathan with big, bright green eyes, and messy blonde hair that was pulled back out of her face. She was about six or seven, and immediately upon looking at her, he knew that this was the sister Jack had mentioned so often in the past few days (much to his disdain), "I'm Hunter! What's yours?"

"What's my what?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow, _Weird little kid…_

"Your name, stupid!" She laughed, jumping up slightly to punch him in the arm.

"Hey!" He snapped, staring down at her, "Didn't anyone tell you that hitting people's rude?" She said nothing back, she just grinned up at him, laughing slightly as though hitting him was funny, "My name's Nathan…" He then replied, crossing his arms, and leaning against a nearby wall.

"So…" Hunter began, leaning on the wall next to him, "Do you think amputations are cool? I think it'd be so cool to watch one! Olive says I'm not old enough…that watching it might 'disturb me' but I can take it! So what do _you _think? It's awesome right?"

"Yeah…" He replied, looking down at her with an expression that read: I'm not really sure how I feel about you. Hunter opened her mouth to speak once again, but before she could say anything (most likely amputation-related), a loud scream came from the other side of the door.

"DAMN IT!" Jack screamed from the other side of the door. Well she was awake, that was a good sign.

* * *

"So," Nathan began, sitting on the couch opposite of Murderface, within Olive's apartment, "You're saying you've no idea where they are?" He commanded, as he placed a bottle of beer down on the table. It had been a few hours, and it had given Nathan the chance to clean up and be rid himself of the three days worth of accumulated grime (not to mention a change of clothes).

"Nope," Murderface replied, shaking his head, "Not a clue…"

"What are you guys talking about?" Hunter asked, sticking her nose in their business as she popped her head over the back of the couch.

"Hunter, leave them alone…" Olive stated, walking into the apartment. Jack followed behind, and she had arms, though, at the moment, they were just metal skeletons, with exposed wires of varying colors that could be seen weaving in and out of the structure, "I'm sure that Jack and her friend are exhausted…"

"We're not friends…" Nathan responded promptly.

"What makes you say that anyway?" Jack added, raising an eyebrow.

"You two are all over the news," Murderface replied, leaning back as Olive turned on the monitor in the middle of the living room. If flickered for a moment, just before the image of a young, pretty newscaster came on to the screen. Next to her face, a picture of the slums where they had just been a few hours prior, lit up in flames.

"There is still no word on who started the assault on district four," She began pleasantly, "But officials are doing their best to uncover the culprit behind the arson. We have reason to believe that this brutal assault was done by none other than the notorious Naremas Liberation Front. Amidst the destruction that took place today in district four, a spectator managed to capture this image." She continued. The blurry photograph showed what was most certainly Nathan and Jack, running from one of the blasts during the fray, "As you can see…a Syranian male was seen fleeing the scene, with an arch denizen just prior to the attack. If you recall," She continued, as a different picture of Nathan appeared on the screen, beside the first, "This same Syranian has been wanted for crimes against the city and evading arrest, and is now attached to the Naremas Liberation Front. If you happen to spot this dangerous criminal and his accomplice, please alert the sentries of your district immediately."

"This is bullshit!" Nathan exclaimed, rising to his feet, "I haven't done a goddamn thing! And I didn't do a fucking thing to that place-"

"We know," Olive stated, turning off the monitor and rolling her eyes, "But the people in this city are so dumb, they'll believe anything the media spouts about them. For now you'll just have to camp here with us until the coast is clear…not to mention Jack's in no condition to travel with her arms bein' like that…"

"Awesome!" Hunter exclaimed, "So that means you get to stay for a while!" She smiled, running over to her sister.

"But Liv…" Jack began, turning to the redhead, "How much longer until we can attach an exoskin?" She inquired, "We kind of have somewhere we need to be…"

"These things take time Jack," Olive replied, shaking her head, "Had you not ripped off your last skin fighting a Proxy than this wouldn't be a problem…but it's going to take a day or two before your body can accept the nerve attachment…for now you're not stable enough for it."

"Damn…" Jack growled, "Then is there anyway you can get in touch with Serena?"

"Sure," Olive replied, placing her hands on her hips, "But what do you wanna talk to that little priss for?" She continued, leaning against a wall.

"Just something involving him…" Jack whispered, leaning in towards Olive and nodding towards Nathan.

"What about him?" Olive demanded in a whisper as she crossed her arms again. Her eyes then grew wide, "Jack! He's not a part of the liberation front is he!"

"God no!" Jack replied, shaking her head, "I mean…that's not what I want to talk about…he…he might be a part of the movement though…I don't know. He doesn't talk much…it wouldn't surprise me."

"Jack!" Olive began, "We could be sentenced to death if it turns out he's a part of the resistance!"

"Just call Serena okay!" Jack snapped, not noticing that Hunter had been listening to them the entire time, and Nathan had taken Murderface from the room.

"We have to get out of this place," Nathan stated, seizing Murderface by the arms as they stood in a dark hallway, away from the two women. Murderface said nothing, he just crossed his arms and listened to Nathan talk, "We don't belong here! And these bitches are crazy! Listen this girl…Jack-"

"Yeah what about her," He interrupted, peering around the corner to look at the two young women, "What's the deal with her? You fuck that yet? I mean she's got no tits on her…but she's still kinda hot-"

"No!" Nathan growled, "I didn't do her! Would you shut up and listen to me for a minuet! She says she might know someone who could get us back! If that's true, all we have to do is find Pickles, Charles, Toki, and Skwisgaar and we're outta here, and we can forget this whole goddamn thing ever happened." He continued, walking back into the living room.

_What if I don't want to go back?_ He though as he watched Nathan sit back down on the couch.

* * *

**[Message from KC]: **Something is happening here…:D and you won't believe what it is…because I haven't told you yet :D I swear there's a plot here somewhere and dammit I am gonna find it! Haha I am kidding of course…but I promise to get to the plot (right now it seems pretty basic…find Jack's friend and get home…but there's always more to it than that ._.) There's a very Silent Hill aspect to this too (always...with Silent Hill stuff, KC...why don't you just marry Silent Hill! Would if I could...would if I could) Anyway! Completely useless bonus points to anyone who can figure it out before I post again :D

OH! I checked the traffic page on this story and congrats! It's the second most visited story, next to The Regiment of Twilight on my page (yay…). So, with that, I hope you enjoyed the read. I promise I will explain more of what's happening in the next chapter (also, sorry Sirs and Madams, that these chapters happen to be alone, but obviously I have a lot to get out with this one, as it's definitely one of the most complicated storylines I've written to date). R&R and thanks for reading :3 Till next time-

Happy Thursday Everypony!


	6. Chapter 6: Sweet Dreams

**[Message from KC]: **In the last chapter…

Trolololololololololo…

That is all…

P.S. sorry it's kinda been a while. I haven't been feeling well and I have a family member who's pretty sick too.

* * *

_He sat in the chair opposite if the elderly man. His counterpart stared through him with a dark and hateful expression, but he found himself anchored to his seat. He hated Selatcia, so why had he agreed to meet him? He had just enough of the old man's constant abuse of his family, and his sister. Rapist, murderer, thief, adulterer, pedophile, what hadn't he done? It was time to make him pay for his crimes. He stood up, and though he was stronger and much more able, he could not find the strength within him to strike at the old man. Some strange force was holding him back._

* * *

Chapter VI.

Sweet Dreams

"Nathan…" Someone called softly throughout the halls of the darkened apartment. A few hours had passed since Nathan and Jack faced off against the Proxy creature, and he had brought her to Olive. Most of them had already gone to sleep, except for Nathan. He was sitting up in the somewhat empty room that Olive had cleared out for him within the apartment. A dark orange glow filled his room from the streetlights, and fire spewing from the factories that surrounded them.

Something about the city lights was too distracting. This was probably why Mordhaus wasn't within city limits. Privacy too, but mostly the lights. He liked the darkness, it was calm and comforting. What was the fear of lights called again? Was it heliophobia or photophobia? Either way he didn't care for it.

"Nathan…" The voice called again. It sounded angrier this time. He had dismissed the first call as him hearing things, but the second was more distinctive. He pulled himself up off the bed and poked his head out into the darker hallway. There was no one out there, and come to think of it, the voice didn't sound like anyone in the apartment. Too old to be Hunter, too pretty to be Jack or Olive, and it definitely wasn't Murderface. He headed down the hall and into the darkened living room, but there wasn't anyone there. He shrugged, turned back around, and headed into his room. He closed the door behind him and laid back down, closing his eyes for just a second before he heard the call one more time.

"Nathan!" She called, sounding like she was right next to his ear. He opened his eyes and sat upright, irritated, thinking that the calls were nothing more than dehydration, or paranoia. This was not the case. Directly across the room, was a young woman sitting in a chair.

"Who the hell are you!" He exclaimed, backing himself up against the wall. This world, it was just a little too strange for his liking.

She looked up at him and gave him a soft and sad smile. She had no eyes, rather two sockets with a black, tarry substance oozing from the shallow orifices. Her pale lips seemed to be oozing with the same gross material, and her features were hardly distinguishable, except for her long, red hair which hung in her face. She was maybe fifteen or sixteen, and dressed in a long, dark green gown. She then rose from the chair and began moving towards him slowly. Nathan couldn't move, but he wanted to run. She climbed up on to the bed, crouching over him.

"What do you want?" He asked, holding his hand up to his face.

"Nathan…" She called quietly, as some of the black substance dripped from her mouth and to his lap. It smelled like decay, and made him slightly sick, "It's not over between us!" She wailed as her empty sockets flared with a blinding white light that also spewed fourth from her mouth. He wanted to scream, but he felt something shift as she blinded him momentarily.

"AAAH!" He called out, shooting up from his bed, soaked in sweat. He looked around to see of she was anywhere in sight, but to his shock (and relief) he noted his room back in Mordhaus. He let out a long sigh, and then threw his hand over his face, and laughed, "It was all just a fuckin' dream…" He laughed, looking around his room. No Jack, no mysterious portal woman, no Proxies, no Naremas. He stepped down on the blood red carpet and headed for the door. Something didn't feel right

_What a crazy dream…_He thought, _I should tell the guys about it…_ He continued, as he swung the door open. He then let out a sudden shout, as he almost went tumbling off of an endless drop off, right outside his room. He fell to his knees, looking out over the ledge. There was nothing below and nothing beyond, just blackness. He pulled himself up off the ground, and turned, realizing that his room was gone. He was standing on an odd precipice, with a checkered tile floor. He looked up to notice that it twisted into a path, lined with old, grey, twisted and gnarled trees.

"…the fuck…" He began, looking up at the darkness that surrounded him, "Hello!" He shouted, his voice echoing throughout the expanse, "Anyone! Where am I?" There was no reply. Where the hell was he now? Truthfully speaking, he was getting really sick of all this trippy, cryptic bullshit. But at the moment, it didn't seem that there was anything he could do about it. So he did what any normal person would have done in this situation, and headed towards the path.

It was certainly wide enough that he wouldn't loose his footing and fall into the blackness below, but it didn't mean that he shouldn't tread carefully. As he continued though, it seemed that the path got wider, the gangly trees grew thicker, and the area around him getting darker and darker. The deeper he continued, the more uncomfortable he was getting.

"Hello!" A small and sweet voice called. He turned, feeling a bit relieved. He was hoping that it was a child. If a kid could survive here, than maybe it wasn't as dangerous as it seemed. But he was greeted by a long, thin, hunched over creature, staring at him with huge black and red eyes, the size of tennis balls. It had dull, dark bluish skin that looked like rubber stretched over a skeleton. Its head was huge and misshapen, with a long and sliced open mouth, filled with jagged yellow teeth. There was a mass of wild black hair sitting on its head and fell down around its body like a curtain.

"H-hello…" Nathan stated, not sure how to respond as he began to back away from it. It just tilted its head to the side and smiled at him with an awful toothy smile.

"Hello!" It replied again in the same small and childlike voice.

"Hello?" Another voice called from close by, followed by another, than another, and another. Nathan looked up at the dark and barren forest around him to notice hundreds of these things were crawling out of the trees and towards him. Their eyes lit up the path, and he could see that their skin was sewn together, and patched, like an old doll. All of the creatures continued to call out to him, but he didn't respond. He simply turned away, and began continuing down the path.

"Don't go!" They then began to shout, sounding scared and confused, "Please! Stay! I'll be good! Please!" They continued to call out to him, "I'm so sorry! I won't do it again! I'll be good and I won't tell anyone! Please! I promise!" Their voices had begun to change at this point, and something about their change unnerved him. They sounded familiar now, like they were a memory. He took of running down the path, desperate to get away from whatever they were. He tripped over a root sticking out of the ground, and went tumbling through the branches of the dead grey trees and in to a wide and rocky clearing.

Nathan shook his head as he peeled himself up off of the ground. The creatures had stopped calling for him, and when he turned back to look at the forest, it was gone. There was nothing but the suspended path, winding back into oblivion. He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes, trying to get some sort of handle on the situation. Typically, one isn't very self aware during dreams, that is, you can't control their outcome. However, Nathan felt very in control of his senses. It felt like a dream, but in so many ways it didn't. He was now in a large and rocky clearing, but it didn't look like anything _living _was around.

"Hey!" Nathan called once more, at the risk of attracting any unwanted attention from undesirables, "I-is anyone here!" He called again. He looked around the clearing and noticed what looked like statues. They were all about the same height and size, showing the exposed female form to a great detail, but they had no faces. They were all standing in various poses. At first they started off innocent enough, standing straight and trying to cover their exposed bodied, but as he moved through the rocky clearing, their stances became more suggestive and provocative. But then they resolved into cowering poses of them hunched over in fear, and their hands together in prayer, or arms covering their faces in horror as they laid upon the ground. What did it mean?

"Anybody?" Nathan called once again, this time, hoping for a human, "Where am I?" He then asked quietly, looking forward and seeing no end in sight.

"In the maw of madness! You shouldn't ask questions you already know the answer to," A voice snapped, with a slight British spine about it, "It's not polite."

Nathan turned to his addressor, just hoping that whatever it was this time was a human. He opened his mouth to speak, but upon looking at the figure in front of him, he stopped in confusion. It was himself, or some sort of strange shadow of himself. This imposter was younger, much younger, about twenty and had the appearance of Nathan when he was in his prime. He looked sick though, not as in disgusting or repulsive, but just not well. The doppelganger's skin was a pale grey color, and he had large, dark circles around his eyes. His hair was a bit more faded too, and void of any health or sheen. Lastly, he was dressed in some sort of black, regal looking suit or uniform. He had seen this before, he just couldn't remember where.

"Who are you?" Nathan asked, sounding a little silly by this point. Though, to be fair, it was very well possible that whoever this was, he could have been a changeling or shape shifter. It didn't necessarily _have _to be him. The copy rolled his eyes at his older reflection.

"Did I not just say that asking questions you know the answer to is impolite," He scoffed, striding over to him.

"But I don't know-" He began angrily.

"What you claim not to know," The copy replied haughtily, taking a firm hold of the arm where the silver band had melded to his skin, "Is what you've rejected and denied!" He continued, holding lifting up Nathan's arm and shoving the smooth cold brace in his own face, "It's time you end this foolish game, Nathan."

"I'm not playing a game," Nathan hissed, pulling his hand away violently.

"Please," The copy replied, sticking his nose up in the air, as he began to circle his counterpart, "You feel yourself crawling back to the true reality…I know you do. God only knows why you're so dead-set on destroying all evidence of your _real _past, why you're trying to erase the memories of your family and home, and most importantly the attack-"

"What are you saying?" Nathan demanded, narrowing his gaze. The copy let out a long sigh and shook his head.

"The answers you seek, are all around you," He replied, gesturing to the barren and depressing space around them, "You once denied your role in _this _universe," He continued, crossing his arms, "And rejected this reality, retreating to another…to one that you don't belong in." He continued, stressing the importance of the situation, "But I can see that in your stay amongst the mortals has made you soft…" He growled, pushing Nathan by the shoulder, "I can see that you're eager to go back to your semi-charmed life, where you'll be nothing but a waste of space when you could be putting your power towards something even greater than you or your precious _Dethklok _could ever comprehend…" He stated contemptuously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan snapped, not appreciating the push, as he followed after the shadow striding away from him.

"As if you don't know?" He laughed, throwing his head back, "The truth will come back to find you should you choose to return-"

"I won't miss this place," Nathan stated flatly, crossing his arms. His mind was made up, for now.

"You can't run away forever," He responded, "You know that. Tonight was just the eye opener you needed Nathan…The memories that you tried to bury or lock away are emerging, and there's nothing that _you _can do to forget us anymore. _You_…but that doesn't mean that someone else can't."

"What do you mean?" Nathan commanded, raising an eyebrow.

"It is easy for you to return to the place you call home," He explained, nodding to the silver brace, "With the Adamas back in your control…you can traverse the planes easily…but you will not survive! Remember Nathan! Who benefits from your forced abandonment of your memories? Who should gain from your forgetfulness? Should you return, you and your precious Dethklok are finished!"

"What do you mean _finished_?" He asked, grasping the gravity of the situation for the first time since he had arrived.

"I mean _finished_." He replied, stressing the word, "You've been brought back here for a reason, Nathan. Open your eyes! First the binding…" He stated, nodding to the brace, "Then your return…now there are Proxies running free within the walls of the city! And yet you'd prefer to let the world fall into a state of chaos at the putrid hands of a pious vulture?" He continued, seizing Nathan by the collar of his shirt.

"It's not my problem," Nathan stated haughtily, with a slight shrug.

"You selfish boy!" The shadow responded with a hiss that could freeze blood, "Do you suppose to remain ignorant of your role forever?" Nathan was silent. The two stood with their eyes locked for some time before his younger shadow let out a growl and turned away from him, "Fine…leave…you were always a great useless _thing _anyway."

"I am not useless!" Nathan shouted, rushing up towards his shadow, pulling him by the shoulder to face him, and throwing his fist into his face. The shadow fell to the ground, wiping a small stream of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Then prove me wrong," He replied, rising to his feet. Nathan began to feel himself slipping from this plane of reality as the strange world grew hazy.

"Wait!" Nathan exclaimed, as the image of his former self began to fade, "I have more questions!"

"And I can not help you by answering them," He replied, "Only you can do that…let free your mind and allow your memories to come back to you. Remember that you have chosen to forget."

"WAIT!" He screamed angrily, flying upright from his bed, staring at the white stucco wall opposite him, and the basic wooden chair that the frightening girl had been sitting prior. He was breathing heavily, as if he couldn't catch his breath, "God damn it…" He growled, placing a hand on his forehead.

"You…okay?" Someone asked. He jumped slightly and turned to the door. He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he noted that it was Olive. She was staring at him with a look of slight fear and concern, "You kept shouting in your sleep…stuff about someone named Ellie?"

"I'm fine…" He replied, shaking his head.

"Sure…you're fine…" Olive replied, "Who's Ellie? Someone from home?"

"I don't know who she is," He replied, not looking at her, and staring straight forward.

"Didn't sound that way…" Olive replied, raising an eyebrow. He turned to her and gave her a sharp look, to which she responded by throwing a lump of clothing in his face, "Get dressed…there's someone here to see you."

"Me?" He asked, pulling his freshly laundered shirt over his body, "What time is it anyway?"

"Midday," Olive replied, exiting the room, "So get outta bed…"

_Who's here?_ He asked himself, throwing on his jeans and exiting the room. He headed through the hallway and into the living room, where he found no one he didn't already know. For a moment, he didn't think anything of it as he headed into the room, and sat down on one of the couches, looking over at the faces. They were all staring at him rather expectantly, waiting for him to do something. He opened his mouth, readying himself to tell them to knock it off, until the realization hit him like running into a brick wall.

* * *

"AH!" She shouted, falling to the cold, stone floor within Selatcia's dark chamber. N attempted to lift herself off of the ground. Her cowl had fallen off her face to reveal her pale skin, red lips, and soft green eyes. She had long black hair that fell all around her face, and she appeared to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. There was a massive red mark across her face, and Selatcia was looming over her with his hand extended.

"How could you do this to ME!" He exclaimed, kicking her in the side as she let out a slight growl of pain.

"I didn't…" She pleaded, trying to pull herself off of the ground, "I swear to it master…I didn't save them-"

"Liar…" Vater Orlaag scoffed, staring down at her as he crossed his arms, "You created a portal and sent your brother and that little Arch girl through it! I told you she couldn't be trusted Master. I told you she'd let her emotions get in the way." He snapped, staring down at her.

"No!" N growled, peeling herself off of the ground, only to be kicked back down by Selatcia, "Please…that's not what I meant Master…the girl I-"

"She could have died for all I care!" He hissed, kicking her in the side once more, "Our mission is to find your brother, take the Adamas from him, and return him to the mortal world! I thought I made that perfectly clear to you when I ordered you to kill your father…" He stated, seizing her by the face as he pulled her in close to his.

"I'm sorry Master…just give me one more chance…" N replied, pleading with him. He growled as he threw her to the ground.

"You mustn't fail me again N…" Selatcia replied, giving her a sharp look.

"But Master-" Vater Orlaag protested angrily.

"Silence!" Selatcia hissed, turning to him, "Leave us…" He commanded as Vater Orlaag gave N one last look of contempt, just before sliding away into the shadows.

"Master…" N began, shaking her head, "I swear to you I will make sure that Nathan-"

"Yes," Selatcia interrupted, "You _will _make sure that your brother returns to the mortal world before Alchemilla gets to him first."

"But Master," N began moving to throw her cowl back over her head. However, Selatcia seized her wrists before she could do so, "Alchemilla already has Charles…and she brought the boys back for the sole purpose of capturing my brother…Not to mention she has an entire city full of sentries…how can we be sure that she won't capture him?"

"We have you," Selatcia stated, pulling her in towards him, "And the Naremas Liberation Front…but _you _need to do as I say…"

"Yes Master," N replied, lowering her head, "I will do as you ask…"

"Excellent," He replied, lifting her chin upwards, so her eyes met with his, as he pulled her face in towards his.

* * *

THE PLOT THICKENS!

**[KINGDOM WANTS TO CLARIFY SOMETHING!]: **I just felt the caps lock was a necessity…Anyway so a long-ass time ago, I wrote a metal fic called 'battle of the bands' maybe you read it, maybe you didn't. Either way, I deleted the story from my account (because I'm an idiot that's why!) Didn't have any backup files… ANYWAY! So quick recap: it was about Dethklok vs. Ladyklok essentially. The ladylike counterparts were named Serena (Skwisgaar), Olive (Pickles), Natalie (Nathan), Willamina (Murderface), and Tami (Toki). So why am I telling you this? Because as I'm sure you can already tell by Olive and Serena…I'm recycling the characters…just…deal with it…

That's all. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Read and Review? I really appreciate them guys :3 Tell me what you think so far, if I should keep going, things I should probably change? I really want to know that kind of stuff so…

Happy Tuesday Everypony.


	7. Chapter 7: Future Starts Slow

_Nevan headed to the University of District 15, carrying the anger of his bitter father along with his textbooks. He never cried, crying was for the weak, so he made others cry instead. Pain is like that, you either become sad or you become angry. Nevan always chose the latter, and thankfully he had enough brothers to use as an outlet for his rage._

* * *

"What do you want from me?" Charles coughed, hunched over with his hands tied behind his back.

"Nothing at the moment," Kiryu stated, throwing her hair back out of her face. A slight smile made its way across her lips as the sounds of her boot heels clicked against the hot metal floor. Charles couldn't see much, except for her, and the dark metal walls that surrounded him. There must have been a large fan behind him, for a shadow of the spinning blades was cast through the orange wall opposite him, "We just need you to stay here. Oh, and keep quiet." She smiled, seizing his face.

He looked beaten and disheveled, though it was nothing Charles wasn't used to. The lenses of his glasses were almost completely shattered, and his suit hung on his body in shreds. His surroundings were bleak and sweltering, and his body dripped with sweat. And why wouldn't he have been a mess? It had been a little more than a week since they were transported to this strange place. Although, Charles seemed a little more familiar with it than his boys.

"You just rest that pretty little head of yours," Kiryu smiled, 'gently' pushing Charles to the ground, "Dethklok is fine…we're only after one of them anyway…once we have him, you can take your boys back to earth and forget this whole mess ever happened." She stated harshly, exiting the room.

"Kiryu!" Charles shouted, peeling himself off of the ground, "Do you have any idea what you and your _master_ are getting into!?"

"I know exactly what's at stake," She replied, looking at him from over her shoulder, her cold green eyes piercing through him, "And we'll take the Adamas from Nathan, even if we have to sever his arm to get it."

"Not even Alchemilla can bring them back Kiryu…" Charles stated, sounding more calm at this point. She looked down towards the ground and clenched her fists, "The Adamas doesn't work that way…using it without knowing its penalty…you might as well be stepping on the toes of God-"

"And what would you know about it!?" She shrieked, turning to face him. He had struck a nerve, but didn't think he was appealing to her better nature.

"I hope she's real Kiryu," Charles stated in a hushed voice, her back turned on him, "I just don't want you to get disappointed…"

And with that, she slammed the heavy iron door to the chamber behind her, but she carried Charles' words with her like a heavy weight on her shoulders. This wasn't something she was not used to.

* * *

Chapter 7.

Future Starts Slow

"So where have you been?" Nathan demanded, his arms crossed as he stared out of the flat bay window of Olive's upper apartment. Skwisgaar was sitting in the living room of the dwelling, legs crossed and leaning against the back of the bland couch. It was just him and Nathan at the moment. Olive was below with Jack (as it was about time to attach the artificial skin), Murderface was out with Hunter, running errands for Olive, and Serena had just briefly said hello before leaving Skwisgaar behind to go attend to more _important_ matters. What struck Nathan as odd, was Murderface's off behavior. He seemed content to lay down his arms (so to speak) and just do as Olive commanded. But why?

"Beens with Skerenas dis whole times," He stated, looking around the blank stucco apartment. Something was wrong. It was almost as though the tall, blonde man that Nathan had known back home didn't exist anymore. This was someone new, but he couldn't prove it.

"So she's nobility right?" Nathan asked, still looking out the window. He was going insane. It had been more than a week now and he hadn't been permitted to leave. It simply wasn't safe for him yet, "A lawyer too…bet you've got it pretty good so far." He stated turning to him. His long blonde hair had been pulled back out of his face, and he was dressed in a pristine white suit, with a high mandarin collar, and gold trim (obviously so he could fit in with the nobility he had been staying with.

"Ya it ams a prettys good lifes," He stated with a shrug, "It ams almost likes beins back homes."

"Alright," Nathan stated, turning back to the window, "Listen…we're getting the hell outta here. I can't take this place any longer!" Nathan snapped, twitching slighty, though the dream from a few nights prior still drifted in his head, "We gotta find Pickles, Toki, and Charles and get home…"

"Natens…" Skwisgaar began, crossing his arms. Nathan let out a sigh as he turned to him, "How ams we goings to gets back?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This," Nathan replied, gesturing to the silver brace on his arm, "I don't…really know how it works yet…but I'm figuring it out…we can use it to get back."

"But how ams we goings to find Charles and Pickle?" He then asked, leaning forward and looking up at Nathan.

"I don't know yet," Nathan replied, "But…wait…what about Toki?" Skwisgaar didn't say anything, he just looked up at Nathan with a somewhat blank expression, "Do…you know where he is." Again, he didn't say anything. He stood up and strode over to the thin monitor sitting opposite him, and turned it on.

"Waits…" He stated, turning to Nathan. The news was on (although he was pretty sure that this was the only thing ever broadcast in this place), and it was going on about the weather and other mundane things.

"And now an update on the Paani scores for the week in sports," The pretty newscaster smiled as the screen changed, to another pretty newscaster.

"Well the district eleven Resonators have been dominating the boards ever since they added their newest player!" She stated with a smile as the small box in the corner of the screen showed what looked several people swimming, inside of a globe. It was almost like a fishbowl. They were all dressed in slim, athletic wear all in navy blue and black, "Toki, the resonator's latest first attackmen, showed outstanding promise during his first match against the district fourteen Guardians. And he's been on a roll ever since!"

"What the fuck is this!?" Nathan asked, looking at Skwisgaar with an expression that was both confused, and angry.

"What are you two doing up here?" Olive then asked. She was draped in a teal muslin gown, with black and reddish-brown patches all over it. Nathan turned to her and raised an eyebrow, "She's resting…but she's gonna be fine…why are you watching this week's Paani coverage?" She then asked, throwing the oily and bloodstained garment over her shoulder as she walked up beside the two men.

"What is this?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow and pointing to the screen. Olive let out a slight chuckle as she pulled off her thick grey gloves, and flopped down in the nearest couch.

"It's called _Paani_…" Olive then stated, "It's only the sole sport here in Naremas. The goal is simple. Get the ball…" She stated, pointing to a thin blonde girl under water, clutching to a large and heavy looking yellow ball, "And throw it through the opposite team's hoop. The catch is…there is none. There are no rules. Players have been drowned, beaten to death, and murdered on the court by enemy players...and it's all okay. Weapons are permitted on the court. Most new players don't live to see the next season. The new guy on the resonators is lucky he's made it this far. The guy he replaced was disemboweled…it wasn't pretty."

"Ya," Skwisgaar nodded, "But ah…we ams knows dis new guy…" He stated, as Toki's picture flashed on the screen. Olive raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" She asked, crossing her arms. But it was then when the realization slapped her in the face, "Wait…no I do remember him! He was with you guys at the slave exchange!"

"I don't know what that means," Nathan stated, furrowing his brow, "But do either of you have any idea where he is?"

"Ya," Skwisgaar nodded.

"District eleven," Olive added, "His team's stadium is located in the center of the luxury district. But getting there might be a challenge. Nothing Serena can't figure out, I'm sure." She concluded, rolling her eyes in contempt.

"Good," Nathan then stated, a bit darkly, as he turned away from them both and headed down into the deeper levels of the complex. He was glad that Jack was safe and taken care of, and that most of his remaining bandmates were found and safe. But he also just wanted to get home. He had hoped that he might find the hooded woman again, and that she would show him how to use the odd relic. That, and he hoped she would show him how to remove it as well.

"Duck!" Jack's voice then commanded of him, from within the white halls of the building. Nathan didn't, and soon found himself face down on the floor.

"The fuck!" He shouted angrily, peeling himself up off the ground, the side of his head throbbing in pain. He then saw Jack in nothing but her shorts and ripped black shirt, standing a few feet away from him, in a strong fighting stance, "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping!?"

"Forget that," She shouted, leaping into the air, her foot extended towards him. Instinctively, he seized her ankle before she could plant it in his face. Jack's body fell to the ground, her head slamming against the floor. Nathan then threw the small girl across the room with every ounce of strength he had left. Jack rebounded, rolling to her feet immediately after being tossed to the ground. He waited for her to dive back at him, but she simply laughed, dusting herself off.

"The hell was that about!?" Nathan commanded.

"You're a bit better than I thought you were Princess…" She stated, placing her hands on her hips, "But I could still take you…even without arms…"

"Is that a challenge?" He asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at the small female, establishing his dominance.

"Up to you…" She stated, turning away from him and heading up the hallway, "Meet you on the roof if you're up for getting your ass kicked…by a girl…"

_You're on…_He thought, a smirk across his face, _Princess…_

* * *

Meanwhile, Charles sat, wasting away within his blisteringly hot metal prison. He attempted to pry his hands free, but they were bound so tightly that he no longer had feeling anywhere below his wrist. The air around him was so hot, and he couldn't take it any longer. He lowered his head and vomited on the ground before him.

"Yeah I might get sick of this place too," A voice called from above him. Charles looked up at the rafters overhead. He smiled slightly as he looked up at a very familiar face.

"I thought you weren't coming," He stated quietly as she jumped down from the iron beams overhead. It was Abigail. Her hair was pulled back out of her face, and she was dressed in tight, dark grey, tactical gear and uniform, similar to Kiryu's.

"It's not in the nature of a Black Card agent to leave one of their own behind," She stated, moving behind Charles and cutting him loose. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the blood rush back to his hands, "Come on…" She then stated with a nod, "We've got to go."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Charles then stated, wringing his wrists as he looked up to her, "I have to ask…how did you get here?" He commanded, a bit direly.

"Transdimensional travel," She stated flatly, pulling back one of her sleeves to reveal a brace similar to Nathan, and the cloaked woman's, "It's one of the perks of being a signer."

"We aren't supposed to be using them," Charles snapped, as his arm flickered with white light, and one appeared on his wrist as well, "You know the ramifications Abigail-"

"And at the moment I don't particularly care," She stated, extending her hand out to her side. A pale green light shot from the brace and tore open a rift in the space before them. She extended her hand out towards Charles, who took it accordingly, and she pulled him inside.

The pair stumbled fourth from the portal and into what looked like an alley in the industrial district. The crowd bustled about in the streets before them, ignorant of the litany and violence that plagued their city. However, in the day-to-day commotion, they hardly noticed the pair.

Abigail gestured him to follow her. They both needed to get back to the Black Card facility, though this would prove to be more difficult than they had intended. Security around the districts had been increased ever since the attack on the fourth district, and Nathan being on the run. Not to mention, a full-scale revolution being on the horizon, the nobility that ran the city were on high alert.

"I don't know if you've been informed," Abigail stated, pulling a thick, black, boxy device from inside her uniform, "But we've relocated our facility."

"I'd imagine…I'll admit it's been a while since I've been inside the city," Charles began, "I haven't been here much at all…the boys keep me occupied enough back on earth, as should you."

"It's not like they honestly miss me," Abigail stated, "I wouldn't be surprised if the other record executives are rejoicing in the fact that I've been missing for a week…I hope to never go back. The work I was doing back on earth was childish and frivolous…I feel as though I'm doing some good here in Naremas, even if it's so little."

"There won't be anymore Naremas if we don't find Nathan and the boys," Charles continued, following after the woman, "We need to keep them _away_ from this place…lest they-"

"Lest they what?" Abigail demanded, turning around to face him, but speaking quietly enough to not attract any unwarranted attention, "Learn about who they are, or where they came from? Heaven forbid that we leave earth and the human world behind."

"Don't sound so bitter," Charles commanded, adjusting his shattered glasses, and looking up towards the pristine spirals of the peak districts, "If we don't hurry, and put Naremas behind us, there might not be a world left to leave behind." He continued, quietly as his eyes seemed to wander off into the distance.

"Hmm?" Abigail began, raising an eyebrow, "What was that?"

"It's not important," Charles stated quietly, "Come…the longer we stay here, the longer we jeopardize the other Black Card agents."

"Then let's go…" Abigail commanded, gesturing him to follow her.

* * *

"So you don't know how to use it," Murderface grunted, staring disdainfully down at the relic on Nathan's wrist. Nathan gave him a nasty glare, to which Murderface replied with a sneer.

It was early in the evening, and the massive orange sun hadn't yet set. The three men were sitting within the living room of the apartment, and the women were below, as Olive chastised Jack for provoking Nathan to fight instead of resting, all the while, Serena attempted to speak to both young women about the severity of their situation. But regardless, none of the men particularly cared about what the women were discussing, or their current affairs and agenda.

"If I knew how to use it…" Nathan hissed, "We wouldn't be here, now would we?" He continued, giving him a look that could freeze blood.

"Shut up!" Murderface grumbled, crossing his arms as he sneered back at Nathan, "Figured you might have tried _something_…"

"Don't pressure me!" Nathan growled, rising to his feet, "What's your problem been anyway!?"

"Enoughs…" Skwisgaar stated calmly, stepping in between the pair before the situation could escalade, "Dis am snots goings to be helpings us…"

"Skwisgaar's right," Nathan snapped, locking eyes with the former bass player. It was nothing new for Nathan and William to fight. They never got along in Dethklok, and given that their situation was less than ideal, the tension between them was even greater, "We should focus on getting home."

"We know where Toki is," Murderface stated, leaning against a nearby wall as Nathan sat back down.

"And Charles and Pickles are still missing," Nathan stated, his hands folded together as he rested his chin and stared off into space.

"I know where your _other_ friend is," Serena stated, entering the room as she gently threw her hair out of her face, "The red-haired one…with the poor attitude. But you won't find him within the city-"

"Where is he?" Nathan demanded, rising up and heading towards her. Serena threw her head back slightly and laughed. Nathan gave her a dark look and she immediately ceased her laughter.

"How much do you know about the political turmoil within the city?" Serena asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just what I've seen on the news," He stated, "And what Jack told me…what else do you know?" He demanded.

"That there's a lot more going on that meets the eye," Serena stated, a bit playfully as she looked over Nathan, "Tell me, have you ever heard of Alkahest?"

"Yes," Nathan replied immediately, "I mean…no…I know the name…"

"Are you still here!?" Olive growled, stepping into the room behind them all, "I thought I told your pompous ass to not let the door hit ya on the way out!" She growled, striding up to Serena.

"Please," She replied, rolling her eyes at the snarky ginger, "Like I would choose to stay in this dreadful place…I was just passing along a message…" She stated, looking over to Nathan, "Skwisgaar…come along…we have business to attend to." She stated, heading towards the door as Olive rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen. Nathan followed her out of the door and into the hallway, immediately upon closing the door behind him, Serena seized him by the arm.

"There's an adjunct library in district ten," Serena stated, placing what looked like a cardkey in his hand, "It's only accessible to nobility and military personnel. This will grant you access until you can reach the grand library in Central."

"What makes you think I want to stay here that long?" Nathan asked, practically whispering in her ear.

"Because you're curious…" She whispered back, "By the way…N sends her regards…" She concluded, walking away from him, "Oh…and she says that you'd better stay alive…or else…"

_N?_ Nathan thought, just as Serena left the building, dragging Skwisgaar along behind her, _Did she mean…_ He thought, looking down at the brace on his arm, _No…it couldn't be the same person…_

* * *

"I don't trust her," Olive stated sitting within the operation room below the garage. Jack was leaning against the wall opposite her, flexing the circuits within her new limbs, "Serena knows too much that we don't…"

"And she has too many connections," Jack nodded, "But she's our best bet…I know you want to minimize our ties to the liberation front, Liv…but the truth of the matter is, N is our best bet for setting things right. I know she can get these boys back to earth…and I know that someday soon, the civil war will be over, but-"

"But nothing!" Olive snapped, "I've been arrested for the suspicion of terroristic activities too many times! Do you know how bad for business that is? You're my only client, and had I known that Will was one of these boys I would have never listened to that military chick-"

"What?" Jack asked quietly, raising an eyebrow.

"Some bitch in a uniform," Olive continued, with a shrug as she strode away from Jack, "Looked military…but no kinda soldier I've ever seen. Damn kids have gotten me in more trouble than they're worth…shoulda picked the ferine nearby-"

"Do you remember what this lady…looked like?" Jack asked raising an eyebrow.

"Sorta," Olive replied, leaning against a wall, "Tall, dark, green eyes, bushy brown hair…why?"

"I have to talk to N…" Jack stated, rushing out of the room. Olive looked up, but by the time she did so, Jack was gone.

"Jack!?" Olive squawked, looking around the room and down the hall for Jack, "I don't think that's a very good idea!?" Olive shouted, hoping Jack wasn't out of earshot.

Meanwhile, Jack rushed up to the dark roof of the garage. Night had fallen, though the sky was nothing more than a black and grey mass of smoke and dust. She had hoped that she concealed herself well enough in between the rows of sheets hung out to dry on the long line suspended on the roof. She knelt down to the ground and pulled out a small, silvery square device from her pocket. She flicked it open as a thin, translucent, holographic screen projected into the air in front of her face. She scrolled through what looked like a menu of some kind and selected a name. Mercedes. She pressed a small button, presumably to call or contact whoever this was. However, Jack may not have made the call had she known she was not alone.

"Jack?" A voice asked on the opposite end.

"Mercedes…" Jack replied with a sigh of relief, "It's good to finally hear your voice…"

"Likewise," The voice on the opposite end began, "It's nice to hear that you've made a full recovery from your run in with the proxy…"

"Yeah," Jack replied, flexing her new arms as she looked back up to the screen, "Listen…I have something to tell you…Apparently Olive-"

"Met a member of Black Card," She replied, her voice cracking from the static, "I know…Charles is already looking for me. As if I didn't have enough to worry about…between the proxies on the run, Alchemilla cracking down on enforcement, having these boys here making fools of themselves…_and_ Black Card trying to send them back all in the midst of civil war-"

"I understand," Jack interrupted with a nod, "Listen…I'll do what I can to make sure that they stay put. Naremas is where they belong…I'll stall anyway I have to, but we need them all here."

"Thank you Jack," She replied, "Oh…and…"

"Yes?" Jack asked, just before closing her device.

"Tell me…h-how…how is _he_?" She asked quietly. Jack let out a slight sigh and smiled back at the blurry face.

"He's…stubborn…but fine," Jack replied, closing the device. She let out a sigh as she rose to her feet, shoving the device back in her pocket. Jack began to move through the rows of drying sheets, heading back down into the apartment portion of the garage, when suddenly she felt one of the damp sheets wrap around her body. She could feel two thick arms wrapping around her. Jack struggled and kicked as the phantom gripped her tighter and tighter with every struggle. She managed to pull her head out from under the cover, to reveal that it was Nathan holding her down.

"Lemme go!" Jack growled, trying to shake herself loose.

"No!" Nathan demanded, "Not until you tell me who that was and what's going on!" Jack growled as she turned and looked to him. She let out a sigh and nodded. Nathan gently let her go and her feet touched down on the ground.

"What are you doing up here anyway?" Jack demanded. Nathan simply crossed his arms and awaited her to answer his question first, "Fine…I'll tell you what's going on…but on the condition you'll wait until tomorrow morning…"

"Why?" He asked angrily.

"Because!" Jack snapped. Nathan nodded in agreement, figuring it wasn't best to argue with her, "Now…what are you doing up here?"

"…" He didn't say anything in response, rather he threw a sheet in her face. Jack let out a gasp as she tried to stop it from covering her face, though it didn't make a difference. She felt herself being kicked out from beneath her own feet as she fell flat on her back. She let out a growl as she rolled out of the way, Nathan's fist slamming down on the ground next to her face. Jack slammed her knee into his stomach then as she leapt up to her feet.

"You'd hit a girl!?" She shouted, almost playfully.

"You started it!" Nathan replied, throwing another punch. Though, Jack caught his fist in her hand. He went to kick her in the side, but she managed to catch his ankle. He let out a growl as he tried to break free, forgetting that Jack's limbs were mechanical. However, they were both deadlocked, until one of them yielded. It was strange though. Naturally Nathan had some fighting experience, being a football player, and a pretty violent and rebellious teenager, it was to be expected. But this was too precise, it was almost as though he had been practicing martial arts for some time. Though, he didn't think too much of it.

"Fair enough," Jack replied with a slight laugh, pushing Nathan away. He didn't look too thrilled though.

* * *

**[Message from KC]:** MY EMAIL IS POSTED ON MY PROFILE NOW :D Anyway! I am sorry for all the waiting, but here it is! Anyway There are some things I'd like to say:

1. I hate this chapter. It's long and detailed, yeah, but I just don't like the way a lot of things are painted.

2. gfhgd...I don't know, I just really don't want to post this update. It's mostly because I just want to get to the meat of this story, but in order to do that I need to have the bones...and there are unfortunately this story needs a lot of bones :/ TL;DR the exposition for this story is being a bitch...and I suck at exposition (obviously, we're in chapter 7 aaaaaand still not done with expo -_-)

OH WELL! It's good to be back everypony! Happy sunday :3


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